"The trouble is that some children are timorous and some children are reckless, and in order to save the lives of reckless children, warnings are calibrated for their safety, the result of which is that the timorous live in a state of perpetual terror. What I needed to be told was that, 'you know what? Most days, you won't die, it's fine' - I wasn't ever going to tear across a three-lane motorway."
- David Mitchell
Especially in school and in general, I've been constantly warned that whatever I post online will remain online forever. I've often been told stories of employers not hiring people after picking up scraps of nonsense that those prospective employees had posted online when they were seventeen. I've heard of people being ousted and fired due to something that they had said or written wrong.
I had spent a long time deliberating whether or not I actually wanted to start a blog because I have been conditioned to feel that expressing opinions online and having discussions with strangers is dangerous, uncivil and highly discouraged.
I was afraid of starting a blog because I fear that I will be misinterpreted, and that as I progress through life, my perspectives on certain issues change and what I have posted before no longer reflects what I think now. I'm apprehensive that in retrospect and hindsight, that I will be ashamed of what I had posted before, but that everything I had ever written will remain in some archive somewhere forever, the consequences of which will manifest in some way unbeknownst to me until it is too late and has caused much irreparable damage or harm to me or the people around me.
However, gradually I had begun to realise that not every corner of the Internet is infested by insensitive trolls or angry keyboard warriors.
This is wanderingintofocus - welcome or welcome back, enjoy your stay, and see you again soon :)
- David Mitchell
Especially in school and in general, I've been constantly warned that whatever I post online will remain online forever. I've often been told stories of employers not hiring people after picking up scraps of nonsense that those prospective employees had posted online when they were seventeen. I've heard of people being ousted and fired due to something that they had said or written wrong.
I had spent a long time deliberating whether or not I actually wanted to start a blog because I have been conditioned to feel that expressing opinions online and having discussions with strangers is dangerous, uncivil and highly discouraged.
I was afraid of starting a blog because I fear that I will be misinterpreted, and that as I progress through life, my perspectives on certain issues change and what I have posted before no longer reflects what I think now. I'm apprehensive that in retrospect and hindsight, that I will be ashamed of what I had posted before, but that everything I had ever written will remain in some archive somewhere forever, the consequences of which will manifest in some way unbeknownst to me until it is too late and has caused much irreparable damage or harm to me or the people around me.
However, gradually I had begun to realise that not every corner of the Internet is infested by insensitive trolls or angry keyboard warriors.
It is sometimes, though not universally applicably, said that one should not be afraid to share one's story, for it may hold the key for another's figurative prison. Thus I really do hope perhaps by sharing my stories and reflections that I could touch a heart, echo a sentiment, or help someone in the same way that I have been and comforted by the experience, advice and guidance by friends and confidants who believed in me even when I didn't.
I don't believe that I am too inept at putting thoughts into prose, and hopefully someone could find that useful. Perhaps this could be my way of trying to leave the Internet better than I had found it - across what I can, by doing what I do best.
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Sunset: Our opinions are shaped by our experiences that engender personal growth, thus expressed opinions can reflect my thinking only at point of publishing, which might not necessarily hold true thereafter.
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Pause. Ponder. Pen.
wanderingintofocus- a collection of thoughts and reflections
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