By Osman Blake 
Some words, you hear them once and they slide off your brain. Others… they hang around. You keep thinking about them, not because you know what they mean, but because they feel like they should mean something. Jememôtre is one of those words for me.
The first time I saw it, I didn’t run to look it up — partly because I guessed I wouldn’t find it, and partly because I liked not knowing right away. It sat there in my head for days, like a line from a song you can’t quite place. I found myself saying it under my breath. It felt personal, almost private.
Pulling the Word Apart (Just a Little)
If you squint at Jememôtre, it looks pretty French. Let’s pull it into pieces:
- Je — “I.” Simple enough. The self.
- Me — more self-ness, almost like an echo.
- Môtre — now it gets interesting. It sounds a bit like “mètre” (a unit of measurement) or “nôtre” (ours).
Mash it all back together, and you get something that could mean I measure myself… or maybe I belong to myself. Either way, it feels like it’s got some backbone — a word that isn’t afraid to stand alone.
Why It Feels Timely
Here’s the thing: everything in life right now is measured. Steps on a watch. Likes on a post. The number of unread emails you’re ignoring (don’t lie — we all do it). Jememôtre, to me, is like a little protest against all that. It’s saying: You don’t get to decide my worth. I do.
And maybe that’s why I like it. It’s not a trophy word. It’s a pocket word — one you keep close and take out when you need to remind yourself who’s actually in charge.
A Morning Habit I Didn’t See Coming
I tried something. Before opening my laptop one morning, I just sat there with my coffee and thought, Alright… Jememôtre. No list. No metrics. Just a quick check-in: How am I actually feeling today? Do I have the energy I think I have? Do I even want to do half the things on my calendar?
It sounds simple — almost silly — but it changed the whole tone of my day. And the best part? There’s no wrong answer.
The Artist’s Playground
If I were a poet, I’d use Jememôtre in a heartbeat. It’s got that rhythm — soft at the start, weighty at the end. It could be a line in a song, the title of a painting, or even the name of a short film that doesn’t explain itself until the very last frame.
Something like: “Before anyone else could measure me, I jememôtred my own soul.”
It’s a word that leaves room for interpretation, which is exactly what makes it art-friendly.
A Kind of Quiet Philosophy
If Jememôtre had a manifesto, I imagine it would go something like this:
- The self is the ruler — not the numbers on a screen.
- Measurement isn’t always math — sometimes it’s just awareness.
- Belonging to yourself comes first — everything else is extra.
Not exactly revolutionary, but… in a world where even your sleep gets graded, it feels refreshing.
A Fit for Modern Life
Picture this: instead of scrolling first thing in the morning, you Jememôtre. Instead of comparing your life to someone’s highlight reel online, you Jememôtre. It’s not about ignoring the world, it’s about not letting the world set the scoreboard for you.
In classrooms, this could mean asking kids, “How do you think you did today?” before showing them a grade. In workplaces, it could be leaders checking in with themselves before their teams. Little shifts, big difference.
Could It Be a Brand? Sure.
Marketers love words like this — unusual, memorable, with just enough mystery to start a conversation. I could see Jememôtre on the label of a fragrance, the homepage of a mindfulness app, or etched on the cover of a leather-bound journal.
It’s one of those words you don’t forget after you’ve heard it once. And that’s half the battle in branding.
Bringing It Into Your Own Life
You don’t have to do anything complicated.
- Ask yourself a single question in the morning.
- Jot down one sentence about how you feel at the end of the day.
- Make something — even a doodle — that captures your inner state.
It’s less about the “how” and more about the pause it creates.
Wrapping It Up (But Not Really)
Jememôtre might never get a dictionary definition, and honestly, I hope it doesn’t. Some words lose their magic when they’re pinned down.
For now, I’m happy keeping it as a kind of personal touchstone — a reminder that I get to decide how I measure my own life. And maybe, just maybe, that’s the only measurement that matters.
Magazine Dreams