Like, Oh My Gosh!

I was recently told by a couple of people that I utilize the word "like" way too much. This is kind of news to me. While I know that I do use "like" more than just for comparative purposes, I never really thought that used it too much in speaking. Someone commented that recently during class I said "like" about 30 times while giving an answer. The thought of that made me cringe - and set me on a new crusade, to at least for the most part, obliterate "like" from my vocabulary.

I guess you could say that I use "like" the way someone might use "um" while speaking; but I realize that overuse of "like" may make me sound ditzy or dumb. I don't really mind being considered a little flaky, because realistically speaking here, I can be extremely flaky at times; but I think that can be endearing to a certain extent, and let's face it, it's part of who I am, and I can't really change that; but I don't want to be considered dumb, because I certainly am not. I also want to become a respected lawyer, not the laughing-stock of the ABA. So with that in mind, I am going to try really hard to not say "like" conversationally anymore; and everytime I do, I'm going to smack myself in the face. I know, that's like totally going to hurt!