Dear Harlan,

I come from a home where we do not use profanity. I'm finding that many of the people I'm meeting on my floor in college use it on a regular basis. I would prefer they at least hold back while I'm around. I've explained that it makes me uncomfortable, but that doesn't seem to help. What should I do?

Surrounded By Potty Mouths

Dear Surrounded,

There are so many clever ways to not swear. Instead of using the seven forbidden words, there are words like "shoot," "dang," "gosh," "sham," "shizzle," "poop," "cripes," "dang," "freaking," "frigging" and other words to swear by.So here's the deal - you may swear by not swearing, but it's not reasonable to expect them to change their choice of words because it bothers your ears. Limiting their words would be no different than them limiting yours because you don't curse enough. I understand that you might not like it, but that doesn't mean they must stop. You might need to be more tolerant or wear headphones. How we talk is part of who we are. If they choose to talk in way that makes you lose respect for them, that's their choice. That said, you still can explain to the people closest to you just how uncomfortable their swearing makes you. They might not understand just how upsetting this is for you. Once you explain this, you can offer a list of other words to swear by. Suggest another word, or have them come up with a list of their own favorite words to substitute.