Monday, June 6, 2011

"Drink me."

It’s time to start writing again. I can feel the need rising, like a sleeping giant emerging.

Meh… I have to admit - I make a lame giant. I’ve retreated from myself over the last year, trying to stay small and play it safe.

I don’t write anymore, no podcasts, no photo-slide shows or anything of the like. I’ve spent the last year distancing myself from interactive media as I prepared to transition to a world without Boise State Student Media as the center of my life – I put student media before my kids, my friends, my grades… everything.

I learned some extremely valuable things in that time: one – I need to trust myself; two - I have a voice and I need to be careful about what I choose to use it for because your voice is a very powerful thing; third, I learned the times in my life I’ve been the most happy and successful were the times I didn’t allow myself to wonder what other people thought of me; and four - digital addiction and burn-out are real.

I miss blogging for the sake of blogging – to get my thoughts out rather than craft a message that will help shape my personal brand. I long for the freedom I felt when I didn’t worry about how employers will perceive me, or if what I write will piss off my grandma. That energy is better invested in shaping my voice and injecting all my passion and curiosity back into my writing.

I’m like Alice with the Drink Me bottle, trying to decide how fast and how far I want to grow – doing my best to make sense of this Wonderland we call the digital age.

Bottoms up.

6 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you were/are going through. It's a tough battle and I'm not sure which side is just.

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  2. Apparently I'm posting as my son Jaiden tonight. This is Shannon, in case you were wondering.

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  3. Inspire me, human social media typhoon!

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  4. Haha that threw me off.

    Whenever the opinion of family members, friends, strangers and co-workers stifle my creativity, I do feel more "mature" respecting their opinions, but it creates a resentment within me and my censorship doesn't last long.

    I often think if what I put out there will come back to bite me in the ass in the future (and it has already), but in the end I take more pride in knowing that I am true to myself than in anything else. They can fire me, dump me and disown me, but in the end, my relationship with myself is and should be the most important influence on my decisions. I'm glad you are expressing yourself again. It's what sets us apart from the herd.

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  5. "write for an audience" they say. "always remember your audience" they say. If you hear it enough it certainly can stifle your creativity. It seems to me the best blogs build your brand because they come across as genuine.

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