Comments | belenen: the purposes I want my LJ to serve and the efforts I take to make that happen

belenen

the purposes I want my LJ to serve and the efforts I take to make that happen

Jan 30, 2016 00:01

icon: "inspired (a painting of my face (in my early 20s) with reflected blues and purples on it, done in miniature by my friend Kate)"
What steps do you take to make your LJ into a place you want it to be, which of them work, and do any of them happen to trap you in the image of yourself you have already created here and impede you expressing ( Read more... )

writing prompts, stepwise processing, lj my beloved home, questions, social justice / feminism, goals

Comments 3

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belenen February 1 2016, 20:40:46 UTC

this comment makes perfect sense and made me very happy! You are one of a few people who I really trust to be able to point something out and have you react in a positive way. It's so valuable <3

kehlen February 4 2016, 22:30:27 UTC

I'm glad the question helped you, and thank you for such a thorough answer.

At the time I asked the question (and if I remember right you wanted to be asked about things we ourselves were working with), it was the second part, the entrapment in the previously created image that I was struggling with most.

I am not completely comfortable sharing myself online, so earlier, my journal tended tended more towards a collection of bright moments, of things I found interesting for some reason, and also, rarely, outpourings of emotion. At one time, I even might have had a title for it along the lines of "all things bright and shiny".

And this was a trap, because when I changed, and wanted to explore myself more, and interact with others on a deeper level, my LJ did not seem to fit such things. Ironically, the only way to do things that make you uncomfortable is to just go ahead and do them, and so I did, but it is still a struggle to post that stuff.

belenen February 5 2016, 01:58:37 UTC

That was a hard thing to figure out, I think because the way I resist the entrapment is not very conscious to me. I used to resist it deliberately by pushing myself to share things that I felt the urge to edit out, and I rarely feel that urge any more. I think the fact that I have clearly stated the purpose of my journal (previous to this, in my userinfo and stuff) makes it easier. Giving disclaimers always makes it easier. If I was trying to shift from "all things bright and shiny" to more of a full representation, I would probably post a "here's your warning: this is changing, deal or go away."