What it Takes to Let Go Blogging

Many of you probably noticed my recent posts regarding my journey with finding my birth mother, the love I have found within counseling and many of the past details about my bullying experiences and aggravation as a child. I figured I would share the tips I use when discussing very personal life situations, with the hope that maybe this will help a few of the young bloggers out there feel a bit more comfortable releasing their feelings on life situations, but not the full nitty-gritty.

1. First off, I never EVER mention names. If you accuse someone of saying or doing something poorly, for example, raping you, or even disagreeing with you in a harsh manner, if you use their name, you could get in some pretty dangerous (and perhaps legal) trouble. It’s not like I’m telling you something you shouldn’t know already. Regarding the examples of individuals involved in personal situations given at the beginning of this post: I believe my birth mother, counselor and my former bully reserve their rights to remain invisible individuals on my website and everything I tell my blog and montage viewers. I never give their residing location, or the names of their family members. To me, last name is the particular issue, and any names of people within an individual’s personal life is crossing a line.

2. I also think, if it’s not necessary to your story, you should leave the city in which this personal incident occurred in out, as well, and if it is your current city, certainly leave it out! It is all about Internet privacy and keeping yourself protected.

3. If you get threats or poor commentary for posting what you posted, respect the person’s issues with your post and alter it, but don’t take it down completely unless the situation prompts that extreme course of action. You are entitled to your beliefs and your right to free speech. Technically, by not mentioning any personal information about that person’s life or whereabouts, you are not doing anything wrong, merely standing up for yourself and explaining to people who care about your life what you have endured within it.

I talk both negatively and positively about people in my life, and encourage those in my life to talk negatively and positively about me if they need to rant and get something out, on their own blogs or personal journals. I request the same top 3 rules above from them as well. Those who I grew up knowing in person would most likely know the first names of my birth mother, former bully and maybe even counselor, but those are the people I trust to put two-and-two together.

In my opinion, blogging is the door that opens many other doors. It is the chance to express who you are to the world that may be watching. It is also a chance to be extremely therapeutic and let your guard down. No matter who may not like what you have to say, what you are blogging about comes from within. Lifestyle bloggers do a very courageous thing by letting each and every person know the details of their lives. Those who criticize don't have that much of an argument unless they know how helpful therapeutic blogging/writing can be. Judgments will carry with you through life, but being able to push past them will present you as a fearless leader who believes in what they have to say.