Tim here:
Did you know that there is a huge discrepancy between the new ways and the old ones? Well, not just one but many. One is this whole concept of being authentic.
What does that word mean anyway? I didn’t know I could be otherwise. I thought that, by default, I’m the real me. Even when I’m not. Right? Like even when I’m pretending to be normal, that’s the real authentic me, faking like I’m better than I really am. See, so even when I’m faking, I’m being real.
Now you understand.
But maybe that’s the whole point of the new authentic. Maybe somehow, somewhere, people got sick of trying to look normal. Maybe the crazy idea that everyone is different and that there is no one-size-fits-all “right” way to live is starting to gain some traction.
Hmmm. I’m not sure what I think about that. Social “norms” have some safety built-in. You know what people will think is okay, and what they think isn’t okay. So if you don’t want to upset anyone, you know how to behave. Without the ideal, what do you do? Be totally, like, authentic?
That sounds risky.
But it sounds nice too. What do you think? Do you show your true self on your blog, or do you keep it within the “norms”? Or are you actually normal?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s so funny you write on this topic, as I recently did the same.
When I started blogging in Spring ‘09 I had a personal blog and then I also started a “house” blog. I kept the two seperate. Then I began to feel like my readers at both blogs were not getting the “real” me. So for the new year I merged the two blogs into one. I wrote a post explaining the change, and I did throw around those words you speak of: “real”, “genuine”, “authentic”. I was always being the real me on both blogs, just not the COMPLETE me.
I think being genuine and real is showing a complete, whole picture of myself. It’s not holding back. It’s blogging for yourself and not for your readers.
Here’s my “bona fide” post:
http://afinehouse.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010new-year-new-blogsame-ole-me.html
Stephanie´s last blog ..A Year in Photos
The REAL Tim is so amazing…why try anything else??
Of course, I did give birth to you so…..I’m just sayin’
When I first starting writing on my blog, I was careful about what I wrote. Now after several years, I am so much more open but I respect the privacy of people like my husband. I had a good laugh after watching the movie “Julie & Julia” when she wrote about the fight she had with her husband. She ended up deleting it. I do that often after I proofread my posts sometimes.
I think it’s good to be real. I got a chuckle after reading your mom’s comment above. She’s right and I follow her blog too.
Debbie´s last blog ..Happy Birthday Sis