Talk about awkward. Imagine going into a social setting pretty much naked, knowing that at least some of the people you will see know your secrets. You don’t know how many or who, but you know that some do. And you know that people are going to ask the question: “how are you doing?” Do you really tell them? What if you don’t know? But you know they are expecting some answer beyond “good”. You want to be honest, because that’s what you’ve written about; but obviously timing isn’t always there. And honestly, there are some people you really don’t care to be honest with, because that “community” isn’t there with them. So how do you balance being real with others and being real with yourself and what you are going to say?
That’s part of the price you (we) pay for being real here on the blog/internet. Sometimes it seems a lot easier to be real here than in person. But it can be incredibly intimidating going into any social setting. Part of you thinks, why do I think I am so important? Like anyone here even knows my name or anything I have written about. But yet, some do. And often it is people we wouldn’t expect.
One of Brian’s high school friends just wrote on her blog about her “secret.” And now she feels like she is walking around with an arrow attached to her, labeling her. My labels are different, but I can totally relate.