There are certain topics I stray from discussing about myself with others. I have always had my guard up around people but oddly enough, I have never had a problem with this as a writer. I always believed that writing to a large audience of people who may be having similar problems to me is not only therapeutic for me, but seemed to be helpful to others. Lately though, I've been having trouble putting what I'm feeling into words. Through many tries writing whatever my current issues and viewpoints are of the world, I noticed that my writing always comes to a stop when I have to discuss the truth of the situation as it transpires in my current life. It's my guard coming back up to protect me, but from what?
Since I began putting my writing out into the world, I've had good and bad responses, but I try to stay away from that because I was told that was for the best. Honestly I never cared what one or two small-minded people might think, I cared about the outcome as a whole. And to be totally honest, my older sister Gaby has probably already said most of the personal things I want to say on the Internet or I've probably complained about it on my Twitter.
So if that wasn't my problem, then what was? Had I forgotten how to trust my instincts when it came to my writing? That couldn't be the case. After weeks and week of writers block, I still felt stumped.
Here's the thing about the Internet that continues to not only baffle me but also worry me for what the future may bring. People can and will say whatever nasty comment they want because they are protected by this wall of not physically seeing this person they are speaking to or about. Because of this wall, viewers feel safe enough to spew out hurtful and untrue words to whomever they want. To that people easily say 'well don't read the comments then', but some people just can't help it. In this situation the problem is that while there may be hundreds of comments about how great whatever you wrote, acted in, directed, etc. was, as humans we focus on the ones that hurt us the most.
While there is no way of stopping people who say these things, there is an alternative to allowing these comments to hurt you. You can either not read them, or you can fight back. Start to think about it in your everyday life. Before you say something hurtful, imagine how you would feel if a random person you had never had a conversation came up to you and said just that. How would that make you feel? Not great I'm assuming.
It's time to break down this wall that hides the viewers from the people who are spending all their time and money to produce content on the Internet. People should not be able to hide behind their computer screens any longer. If one person can make a difference, I want that person to be me. After weeks of being unsure, I figured out exactly what was holding me back. It was me. I was holding myself back because the topics I like to write about can be controversial and seemingly welcome mean responses. But through my weeks of writer's block, I realized that I cared about something I shouldn't.
My older sister Gaby is a prime example of this. Gaby began writing on the Internet in high school. She learned from the very start that these comments were not just going to stop. People will have their opinions and unfortunately are able to express them without consequence. At first, I remember talking to her about it and always hearing how upset these ridiculous things that were said about her on the Internet made her feel. Even so, she continued to write and put out content. Now she has a web show on YouTube with her best friend and comedy partner that continuously gathers more and more followers.
While these comments never stopped, she has found a way to ignore them. There will still be comments from time to time that get in her head, but she knows that one opinion doesn't change the opinion of the other 81 thousand people who follow her on Twitter.
So where does this leave me? I'd like to say that I trust my writing speaks for itself and people will appreciate that, but that's not 100 percent true. There will always be people whose opinions differ from mine. While rude comments on the Internet can't physically hurt a person, the emotional damage people experience can be detrimental to their lives, whether the comments are true or untrue. In looking at the picture as a whole, if you let these comments get to you, you are not going to survive the vast world that is the Internet.
People that use hurtful words on the Internet may never be stopped, but that doesn't mean that the writing I do isn't helping others. That's what is important here. While some may never understand you and what you believe in, it's those who do that matter. Those are the people you create content for and personally these are the people who I write for.