Do you feel your blog entries are romanticized in any fashion? Or do you feel you accurately convey things through your writing? If this blog was a private diary would it look the same? Also, do you think your belief in not getting caught slipping inhibits your writing, especially regarding personal affairs?

Hello, thanks for your questions.

I think it’s inevitable that some (not all) of my blog entries are romanticized.

I plan to provide this blog as a source of communication to my child(ren) one day. My mom also reads my blog. So, while I will only tell the truth on my blog, I avoid talking about certain touchy subjects, and I also write some stories or perspectives from a certain light.

I started this blog 3.5 years ago at a turning point in my life. At the time, I was starting to tell myself:

No matter who you are, or who you try to be, you will always have people who will like you, and people who will hate you. Therefore, what’s most important is that you be yourself, and like yourself.

This thought process, which I always attempt to follow, reinforces the honesty in my blog, and thus helps me try to minimize the romanticism. Why lie to myself, my mom, my kids, and my readers? Either way, there will be some people out there who won’t like me, and others who will.

If this blog were a private diary, it would be a lot different. I was asked the following question once: do you write more for yourself, or more for others? 

After long deliberation, I concluded that I write more for others than for myself. This blog is a medium for me to communicate my thoughts to others. I’m not merely thinking aloud to myself. Each blog has purpose and intent, as well as an intended audience.

You amaze me, and I hope you reveal your identity to me one day. I haven’t used the phrase never get caught slippin’ in a very long time. I’m humbled that you’ve dug through pages of my blog to find that term. I never know who reads my blog, because I receive such few comments or ‘likes’ on Facebook. I genuinely appreciate it when I am told that one of my posts has been read.

I think I’ve become more accepting of being vulnerable in 2013, where I feel more human as a result. Going back to your question about romanticism, I used to write about my weaknesses, but spin it as if I were answering an interview question. When did you fail? Well, I failed back in X, but I learned Y and Z from it. Therefore, I am stronger today.

I don’t do much of that these days. I’m merely reflecting more on my weaknesses, and just trying to actively better myself without being [too] poetic.

Lastly, personal affairs are almost wholly left out of my blog posts, for [I hope] obvious reasons.