Perception
When I look at my little girl, I see a very serious child. Her scowl lends to her contemplative demeanor.
I wonder if she will continue to be a serious child. Is my perception of her, the true Shel?
I hope for her sake that she won't take life and herself too seriously. It has taken me years to loosen up, go with the flow and enjoy life. In the past, anger, resentment, and a chip on my shoulder clouded my attitude.
Was my "bad ass" attitude how other's perceived me? Or was I able to play a nicer part in from of others rather than letting people know the real me?
How am I perceived now? In my blog I can be whomever I wish to be. I see myself as being friendly and outgoing. Sometimes I'm funny, sometimes I am melancholy.
But is my blog persona who I am in real life? I think the answer is mostly "yes!" I've recently been more honest about the real me than I've ever been on my blog. I think I am friendly (much more so than I have ever been), but I wouldn't describe myself as outgoing at all.
You should see me in new situations. I have no idea what to say. Approaching someone new and introducing myself is something I force myself to do, it does not come naturally.
This is probably one of the reasons I like blogging so much. I can be the person I want to be, outgoing, easily meeting new friends, making people giggle, having a conversation. I think it's helping me to actually become more of the way I perceive myself.
Are you the same person in real life that you are on your blog?
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my stream of consciousness,
Quirky Me,
Randomness
36 People are even more brilliant:
I think I mostly am the same. I actually might be more reserved on my blog than I am when talking with a friend IRL, because I am wary of the permanence of the blog!
I think my blog is allowing me to be more of myself in real life. I am trying to be as honest with myself as possible with blogging-I think it makes since that it will help me "keep it real" in life.
Great post. I think I'll have to post my own blog on the subject rather than clutter up your comments with my smarts.
However, i will say I see you as outgoing, funny and VERY real person. Authentic would be the word.
The first time I met you, i got a very confident vibe off of you! I wanted to be friends with you immediately.
I know exactly what you mean about forcing yourself to talk to new people. I am the same way.
I haven't thought about whether my blog persona is the same as the real me. It's something I'll have to think about.
What a great post! I've thought about that a lot, because I worry sometimes that people will read one snarky post and think that represents me. But the truth is we all have lots of different sides, and I love that blogging allows me to express all of them. I'm also a little more introverted in public, and not funny at all. :) (And please, no one break the bad news that I'm not funny in my blog either...)
Great post... I think blogging is a part of who we are... it's difficult to convey the entirity of me on mine. I may be in a 'mood' when I write one day which conveys a meloncholy me but on another, I may be ecstatic. So my blog is a reflection of my moods at that particular moment. ;)
I am me on my blog but I would say an edited version of me. After all I censor myself about details of my life.
Hmm...very good question.
I tend to agree with what Desiree said. I'd have to say that yes, my blog is pretty representative of me. The many different sides of me/how I'm feeling that particular day/moment.
I think I am myself on my blog, but feel a little more free to "be myself." Like you, new social situations are hard for me, and making friends online is so much easier.
That said, my blog is simple small snapshots of my life. There's a lot I keep private as well. I think that's true of most bloggers, though.
Same me in both worlds. Crazy spun out me.
I'm definitely only showing a small part of myself on the blog. It's me, definitely, but there are so many other facets (boring, insecure, sad, personal, etc) that just don't make it. I think I'm still figuring out what my blog should be. It's an on-going issue for me. Great question!
Actually... I think I am a little more "PG" on my blog than I am in real life. One of my good friends stopped reading my blog because she said she prefers the "R" rated verson of my life better.
Maybe I need to talk about masturbation more, or say the word "shit" a few more times, other than that... I think I am the same.
By the way... my son was a very serious looking baby-the constant scowl and I had to work to get him to smile. It is because he was thinking about everything-processing. Now he is still "serious" but he is also 9 with a 14 year old learning level.
Oh my...I could have written this post, that's how close it hits to home!
I think I'm essentially myself. Maybe some editing of swear words or raunchy stories just in case someone I'm related to reads it and is offended. But mostly I put it all out there. When it's there to put out, so to speak. Some days I feel like I'm just grumbling. A LOT of days, lately... Hmm.
Hmmmm, now that's a good question!
Too bad I don't really "know you I am."
I think it's time to ponder....
I really do censor myself on the blog, though- in person (on a bad day) my language is much worse (I am working on it!)
I am WAAAAAY more open and honest and in touch with my inner child in blogland.
In real life I'm a quiet, shy typically aloof person...or so I seem...But my blog is what's really going in in my head...
Love you just the way you are...
Great post. For the most part, my blog represents my personality. I'm not 'fake' on my blog. My family read it - they'd hang me out to dry anyway if I was coming off as a different person there you know?
I bitch more about in laws in real life (not that they are awful or anything - but just the regular in law irks we all tend to have) than on my blog because I remain terrified that someone on the 'in law' side will come across the blog and be upset. Maybe this makes me a little two faced? Who knows?
I think I am, but since you know me IRL, a better question would be do you think I am? LOL!
I think my blogself and my real-self are very similar. I don't hold back on either one.
I'm not sure my blog shows the real me. My blog is rather boring (in my opinion), and I'd like to figure out how to liven it up. Oh wait....I'm pretty boring in real life too. I guess I need to liven up my life. So, I suppose my blog probably does portray the real me. I do think I hold back a little, though, because there are a few people who know me that read it. Sometimes that keeps me from talking about everything.
My name should really be Sybil since there seems to be so many of me..in my head! I think I am more reserved some days on my blog than others. I dont have a clue why.
I enjoy reading your blog. I think you are very real and very funny!
Yes, but mostly b/c all my family knows about the blog, so I censor myself rather than let Raving She Bitch out when she wants to. It is also easier when blogging, as you said, because I can compose myself to be oh-so-witty rather than in person when I think of the perfect thing to say 45 minutes too late.
As the very wise and very mustached Dr. Phil says, "Fake it 'till you make it."
I define myself as an extroverted introvert. Just like you said, in social situations I feel that I have to step into an alter-ego. I like to pick famous people. Princess Di or Kathy Griffin...depending on the crowd.
Loved you post!
I think that my cheezewhizandmustard self is truly my inner dork at ease with the world. I am, however, known for being "slightly" type A, an incessant "what-iffer" and people used to say that I came across as judgmental (which I totally am NOT).
So there you have it.
OH MY! This is the second post I've read today which had a theme of "am I really who I am?" ;)
The other was here, an interesting read ...
http://distractiblemind.ambulatorycomputing.com/2007/07/10/ask-dr-rob-blogging-in-person/
As for me, on my blog. I'm not quite the same in my blog as I am in real life. In real life, sometimes my mouth opens before my brain REALLY has time to process what I'm saying. I'm good for sticking my foot in my mouth. My sense of humor is quick and I'm likely to say something without fully thinking through how it is going to be perceived. My MIL hates that about me. That and she so totally doesn't understand my sense of humor. At least in my blog I have time to edit, reread things, and attempt to make things come out the way I meant them. :)
I would so love to be the person that is me on the blog..she's so outgoing and pretty and sorta funny. I believe she truly is the real me, it's just really hard to show her off in real life.
I try very hard to capture my real voice, but I'm not sure if I do. Since I have a few people that know me well that read me (like my husband), I would feel like a fraud if I was someone different on my blog than in real life.
But sometimes I read an old blog post and I think, God, am I really such a nerd?
I would like to think I am the same here as in 'real life'...Being a military wife has its own problems of developing friendships since you know one or the other will be moving in a few years at the most. So sometimes you settle and "hook up" with friends you might not normally be friends with. Sometimes they turn out to be the one true lifelong friend....sometimes not. I can honestly say in 6 moves I have made a true friend at each place. Takes a bit, but totally doable....kind of the same way blogging!
I think blogging has allowed me to be the person I want to be. I think people who know me in real life would say that I'm the same person in my blog, but might be surprised to know that I tend to have a great deal of social anxiety around people I don't know. I have a desire to be around people, but when I am, I'm either afraid they see me as a total dork or I find myself irritated by others.
I'm also more well-spoken on my blog. If only you could edit your conversations in real life the way you can edit a blog post...
I think that I'm the same... Though when i was blogging under my real name, i wasn't me at all--I was too worried about my family and friends and so on to say what I really WANTED to say. So, taking on a pen name is what really helped me to be, well, me.
I think I'm mostly the same in person as I am on my blog. Probably a little more relaxed in person, just because I do get nervous about what people think of my writing. Oh, and I think I'm happier in person - it's just not interesting to write "I had a good day and everything went well."
(And I wanted to let you know Mira is a serious baby, too.)
Good one Jen! I think I am way more eloquent and witty on my blog than I come across in real life. I am more hesitant and quiet in person, although once I get to know someone (or have a few drinks in me) I am more outgoing.
Yeah, I am. People who read my stuff know exactly what's going on in my life because I tell them, point blank, that i'm a hermit :P
I'm a lot like you...I'm crazy-outgoing...or just crazy...when I know people...I tend to be the center of attention because I'm a big entertainer, trying to make everyone laugh. But if I'm meeting someone for the first time, I clam up. I'm so shy! It's pretty weird, actually...
When I first starting writing my blog I was holding back a little, but I'm starting to really open up now. I think my blog lets me be completely myself, like I'm just talking to my best friends...I feel like I can let it all hang out. It's quite liberating, not to mention cathartic!
Ok, that's IT! We ARE the same person! Holy MOTHAH! Seriously, one day I will meet you in person (I just decided this) and we'll be all shy and awkward until you say "Remember that post about your vajayjay?" and I'll say, "Which one?" and then we'll drink a beer and pee ourselves laughing.
I'm so much more open on my blog that in real life, which is funny, because real life people READ my blog. Hi! I just met you! Yes, I tried to wax my eyebrows and they almost all fell off, why do you bring it up? *sigh*
I really am the same person i am on my blog, but then again my blog is less about attitude and more about here is what we done today - how i would love to be able to blog the way you do. Its intersting to read though
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