I entered this competition because I love to meet and talk to new people! I definitely want to read as many of the entries as I can because I love seeing what other people write and learning about them! I don't know. I feel like I am coming from a completely different place than you are because I am touched and tickled whenever someone comments to me, even a short message, because it means they were willing to take some time out of their life to reach out to me and I think that is very kind!
I also think that the internet has made me some of my strongest and richest friendships. There are a lot of people I know online whom I care more about than people I know in person, and many of them have become my in-person friends. I think it is all in how you choose to use the internet. There are so many wonderful people in the world and I feel lucky that I can make friends all over the world! Everywhere I go, I can find people I know! When I had to travel out to Minnesota a few years ago for a family emergency, one of my internet friends met me right after I got off the plane and gave me a tour of her wonderful city and helped me out so much and I was so lucky to have her.
And sometimes when there are a lot of new people, it's hard to know right away who is going to become a close friend and who is going to be the equivalent of that just-ok-person that you wave to in the halls. I like to keep those possibilities open.
I tend to agree with this - it illuminates my personal feelings and experience. I tend to leave comments when I am genuinely moved by something, and I try to take the good luck messages and encouragement as what is it, even if it's not expressed deeply.
Yet I understand the feeling that teenagewitch expresses, too. Sometimes I find out that someone I "knew" online was not the person I thought. Which is always disconcerting. Perhaps it's the issue of how much trust one is willing to put out there.
This! The friends I've made because of the internet? AMAZING.
I know that I will never be best friends, or even very close, to every person I meet--but I still want for them to be happy and safe and all of that other good stuff.
And when I read entries and leave comments, it's because I tend to think along the idea of "namaste". I read posts because I want to learn more about the people with whom I am sharing a community. And I comment, because I think that it is important to let people know that they are not merely shouting into the abyss--that they have an audience.
Personally, I love the good luck comments. If I got constructive criticism (as in, someone was offering critical feedback because they honestly wanted to help me improve my writing), I'd be cool with that, too.
I also think that the internet has made me some of my strongest and richest friendships. There are a lot of people I know online whom I care more about than people I know in person, and many of them have become my in-person friends. I think it is all in how you choose to use the internet. There are so many wonderful people in the world and I feel lucky that I can make friends all over the world! Everywhere I go, I can find people I know! When I had to travel out to Minnesota a few years ago for a family emergency, one of my internet friends met me right after I got off the plane and gave me a tour of her wonderful city and helped me out so much and I was so lucky to have her.
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And sometimes when there are a lot of new people, it's hard to know right away who is going to become a close friend and who is going to be the equivalent of that just-ok-person that you wave to in the halls. I like to keep those possibilities open.
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Yet I understand the feeling that teenagewitch expresses, too. Sometimes I find out that someone I "knew" online was not the person I thought. Which is always disconcerting. Perhaps it's the issue of how much trust one is willing to put out there.
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I know that I will never be best friends, or even very close, to every person I meet--but I still want for them to be happy and safe and all of that other good stuff.
And when I read entries and leave comments, it's because I tend to think along the idea of "namaste". I read posts because I want to learn more about the people with whom I am sharing a community. And I comment, because I think that it is important to let people know that they are not merely shouting into the abyss--that they have an audience.
Personally, I love the good luck comments. If I got constructive criticism (as in, someone was offering critical feedback because they honestly wanted to help me improve my writing), I'd be cool with that, too.
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