I've been so enjoying the heartfelt and honest discussion in the comments of my last post. It's been a topic that I've been wanting to write about for months now, and have been slowly writing that post for a while, but after that ad campaign I couldn't put it off any longer. Sometimes I get into phases of being "over" the blogosphere, but then I realize that the blogosphere is a place where we the people get to fight against what culture and the media tell us we should be or think or believe. It's finally a place where those who don't have a seat at the table of the gatekeepers of culture get to have a voice. And surprisingly there are lots of people out here who disagree with what culture deems right and proper and appropriate. It's an amazing realization to know that you aren't as alone as you thought. There are other people who've had the same thoughts, been through similar experiences, felt pain and joy, just like you. It's empowering in a way. You tend to dismiss your own struggles when you think that you're the only one with XYZ problem. You think that you're the only one who doesn't have their shit together and that everyone else totally has things figured out way more. There must be something wrong with you, something different. But that's a lie. And I love blogs for exposing that lie. I love blogs for being authored by real people, not editorial teams. For the authenticity of being a human being sharing his or her real story. The more we read other people's stories, the more we realize we're all in this together and it makes us feel less alone and more interested in supporting one another through life, rather than tearing one another down.
