Authenticity

I read an article this evening that struck me as important in this age of social media and in my life as a blogger: Instagram Envy, Being Authentic on the Internet, and When It’s Time to Break Up with a Blog @ Carrots for Michaelmas. I encourage y’all to go read the whole thing, but a couple points jumped out at me. They might be obvious, and yet we I forget them all the time.

I compare my unedited life with someone else’s edited life when I browse the social media/blog world.

This goes one of two ways for me: 1.) the person is a great writer and can make even the worst struggles either beautifully poignant or absolutely hilarious or 2.) the person is a fantastic photographer.

What I need to remember is that both the writer and the photographer are artists, and their art is purposeful—edited to deliver a message. My life, the day-to-day nitty-gritty, is unedited. I see everything, warts and dirty dishes and failures and all. It’s not fair of me to compare the two.

Authenticity in my own blogging means that no one should meet the real me or see my real world and be surprised.

I try, I really do try to be authentic in this space. It’s very difficult for me to show that through photography, however, because as an artist I want my pictures to be beautiful. And life is not always, sometimes not at all, beautiful. And sometimes the un-beautiful is not my story to share. I must be respectful of those whose stories are woven with mine. I am also not the brilliant writer who can weave a story to make you cry or laugh.

Really, there is more to say, like the fact that we have responsibility as blog readers and social media browsers to be aware of our own weaknesses and aware of what brings us joy or builds us up, but I need sleep so I’ll end this quick post with some authentic friend-to-friend honesty:

• I can’t stick to diets or schedules. I love to eat junk food, and I am selfish and have poor self-discipline. I’d love to sleep 10 hours every night.
• I don’t get up early every (any) morning. I’m terrible at making time for devotions or quiet time.
• I take everything personally and get defensive at the slightest (imagined) criticism. And then I spend hours ranting in my head and having imaginary conversations with people who will never win the argument because I’m doing the talking for them.
• I let little things bother me like a bur under the saddle. Like the lady at the children’s museum today who said my 3-year-old shouldn’t be running in the huge outdoor play area (after I used the phrase “she’s tired from running around in the heat for the past two hours”). Seriously?! I’m supposed to keep my toddler and three boys at a calm walking speed in an outdoor play area with ramps and ropes and stairs and slides and tunnels and mazes and whatnot? Whatever. Or that longtime friend who blocked me on Facebook (not unfriended—BLOCKED) with no obvious reason or communication whatsoever as if we (she) were middle-schoolers. Whatever.
• We are sit-down family dinner failures in our house.
• My front porch (and back porch, honestly) looks like a dump.
• I am terrible at getting things done unless I have a deadline or a specific commitment. And then I wait until last-minute (or last-second) panic sets in.
• I lose my temper with my children. Often. And it isn’t pretty.
• I could enjoy reading a steady diet of romance novels and nothing else.
• I could enjoy watching a steady diet chick flicks and nothing else.
• I crave affirmation and praise.
• I prefer need a day’s notice (or more) if someone wants to visit me at my house.
• I am not good at house cleaning, much less deep cleaning. It takes me all day just to pick up surface junk, and then I’m too tired to clean.
• I hate to volunteer for things.
• My boys are voracious readers, but I assure you, they have less than impressive or pleasant qualities as well. (Ha!)

This list could go on for a long time, but maybe this will help some of you have a more realistic idea of my unedited life. [wry grin]

And now I’m curious. If you read my blog and then met me in person, were you surprised? It is my sincere desire that this blog be an authentic space, and I want to work on that if I’m falling short.