Today’s Thursday Thoughts is going to be simple and succinct. I’ve seen a few different posts from readers who reached out to authors after events. Apparently the authors were “too fat” or “not smiling enough” for the readers’ satisfaction. Those readers, apparently, believed that the authors were there only for entertainment, and not as actual thinking, feeling human beings.
I’ve struggled with this personally. I post about my chronic illness, the fact that I was suicidal for most of December and January. What do I hear? Crickets. Nada. As if no one gives a damn. And it hurt. I won’t lie. It hurt a lot.
Now? I don’t care. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, what other people think of me is none of my business. If they don’t care about the circumstances in my life–their loss. Same thing goes for those authors. That those readers felt determined to reach out and say those hurtful things, well it speaks only to their character and rather eloquently as well.
I’ve decided that I’m going to be myself. Pain and all. I will speak openly about whatever’s happening in my life, about whatever is going on, including thoughts on most topics outside of politics or religion. And I encourage you to do the same.
Let’s bust this Instagram-Social Media-Perfect image that we feel we must cultivate. We are REAL people with REAL lives and to whom REAL shit happens. Really.
I encourage others to join me. You in?
