I was fascinated by the responses. These are some of the comments that stand out in my mind:
“I was feeling alone.” “I’ve met very nice people here.” “I am an oddity at work, co-workers don’t understand why I would do something like this.” ( Boy I hear you there. When I mentioned my diary to my fellow workers, they looked at me like I had just sprouted tentacles or something….) “I get acceptance here. I am unsure about sharing my thoughts with people I interact with on a daily basis.” (This DOES seem like a safe place to try some thoughts on for size doesn’t it?) “To develop my writing style. I am often judged by my appearance and this place gives me freedom from that.” (Hear hear. One wants to be judged for one’s ideas, NOT the color of one’s hair or some such trivia.) “I was afraid of what I was feeling and didn’t want to write in a place that my family could stumble across it.” (Wow, this is a powerful reason to write in this semi-anonymous place. Having a place to vent can be very helpful during times when all you are feeling are negative things, and you don’t want to spew all over your nearest and dearest.) “My life has been enriched by reading other diaries.”
How eloquent you all were!
For myself, it began from reading the book, “Discovering the Writer Within”. I had written poetry for many years and was proud and happy with that kind of writing. But this book opened up a fountain of essay type writing that I had not explored very much. By the time I finished the book, and the writing exercises in it, I had generated quite a few pieces of work that I liked. . . but would anyone else? I wanted a place to share them, so I searched all over the net for the right diary site. BUT, I was not prepared for the. . . joy. . . that the comments would give me, and the knowledge that I had touched someone else’s life in a positive way. Wow, that part really blew me away. AND conversely, when you are writing drivel, the lack of response lets you know that you are being lazy as a writer. The almost instant feedback is a wonderful tool to help you know when you are hitting the mark and when you are missing it. An invaluable thing to a writer.
So here’s to us! The many, the varied, the timid, the bold, the ( I suspect) introverts among us. I would love to know the percentage of introverts who keep diaries here. A little psychological curiosity on my part. (Oh Billy Teabags, the sentence fragments are taking over!)
So that’s my next question. As far as you know, do you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert? Heck, maybe I’m full of twaddle. Maybe this place is crawling with extroverts. But if I don’t ask, I won’t know!
Any Myers-Briggs type watchers among us? Any INTJ types out there?
To coin a beer commercial phrase….
“I love you guys.”