My Secret Identity

My secret identity is becoming less secret every day. More and more people know about Diana Prince.

I've told most of my friends about this blog. I've got a link up to it on my social networking profiles. It is connected to my real name. Sure, it's in ways that are only accessible to those I allow to see it, but the connection is there.

Since I've told people in my real life about this blog, I feel weird writing about my current relationships. Part of me wants to say "fuck it" and be completely honest. Who cares if people read about themselves in my blog? I'm all about openness. Why not just deal with people in a completely free way? Force things out into conversation.

The other part of me wants to avoid the subject of my personal life altogether. Telling stories about people or sharing opinions about their actions is a quick way to alienate them. I don't always think good things about my friends, and while I can be critical in a kind way, it's harder to do that for a general audience. Tact serves a purpose in my interactions; I can't abandon it entirely. But I don't want to soft-pedal things on my blog.

I can't just stop talking about my life, though. That would kind of defeat the purpose of having a blog, wouldn't it? I love this medium because it's such a revolutionary way of sharing narratives and making connections. I can see that I have something in common with a person who lives across the globe, or learn about our differences. That's freaking awesome. I wouldn't want to cut that off for myself.

It's certainly a conundrum. I could always start a new, more anonymous blog, but I don't really want to do that. I like putting my energy here, and I like the impetus to be honest. It's just a fine line to walk, and a (fascinating) challenge every day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very interesting.

I've been avoiding telling my family about my blog - I have told a few friends, but I primarily communicate with most of them over the Internet, anyway.

I would think that as long as you make things sufficiently anonymous, nobody sensible would be too offended if you mentioned them. Good luck with walking that line!

Alyssa said...

I haven't told my family because they don't know that I've been stripping as long as I have. I wouldn't mind if they read what I have here, but I don't want my blog to reveal my earlier lie about my job.

And you're right, so long as I don't name names it should be fine. Walking the line between anonymous and too cryptic is tricky, but fun. Thanks for the good wishes.

Kekla Magoon said...

Yes, interesting.

I'm fairly new to blogging (and I contribute to a blog that style-wise is actually much less abjectly intimate than yours!) but I'm finding it intriguing to balance the ease of expressing honesty in a seemingly faceless medium, with the fact that people I know will be reading.

Maybe it's just a good way to break the ice about things you might not get around to saying in person.

On living, loving, learning, and fucking with the materials I've got at hand.

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