How is this the first time I’m posting in 2018?!?!
I really had higher hopes for myself to write more and create more posts to share little pieces of my life with whoever wanted to listen...but I got overwhelmed. Every time I would have an idea and intend to log in either to share or simply to scroll through my news feed to experience a piece of your world would cause me such anxiety that I wouldn’t get online at all.
Before I go any further I feel as though I must mention the warmest of welcomes that I recieved here in my first few days! It was good wishes after pleasant comments and made me so very happy to be here let me say! It’s such a rare thing in this world to feel instantly connected and welcome in a new environment but it’s 100% something you experience here and I want to thank you all for that from the bottom of my heart. You all are helping me grow!
In being “offline” for about a month now, I have actually turned what I thought was a negative in my lack of sharing into a positive by feeling much more human if that makes any sense. I was starting to feel a little on the mindless scrolling zombie side there for a while. We live in a time where we expect to celebrate and receive validation for every aspect of our lives whether it be a perfectly arranged meal, a new outfit or a vacation. We sum up our worth in a highly contrived status or photo. That’s not reality; it’s a portrayal of reality. We tend to get caught up in a world where our priority is to show others what a wonderful life we have instead of actually experiencing the life that we’re showing off. I think if more people were honest about their lives and what’s really going on behind the screen, people wouldn’t face unhealthy pressures to always be okay. I’ve never been the best at sharing my thoughts and feelings, but realized there isn’t any pressure here like I feel on other social media sites to showcase yourself. I was making more out of this than I needed to and was creating an unfair expectation for myself that was unnecessary. Creating the “perfect post” was something I was telling myself I needed to accomplish every time, but what does that even mean?! Life is messy sometimes and none of us are perfect. It is perfectly normal to fail and means you are trying which is all I could ever ask for from anyone and something I always try to do, which is try your best. It is okay to face rejection because it builds resilience. It is okay. That’s what we all must remember. We are okay. We are enough. Sometimes I forget this little fact but I am remembering it now. I’ll be making another post soon but just wanted to reach out and let everyone know why I’ve been missing so far this year!
I can only speak for myself and the experience I had disconnecting from social media in saying that it has helped me connect to my much more grounded self. Something I will be taking much better care of in the future.
Thank you all again for being here and following me while I figure out this crazy thing we call life! It’s going to be a beautiful, wild ride.
(So happy to be sharing it with you all😘)
XO ~ Kylie
PS. I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year!
glad you are back again and happy new year :P
Thank you so much! Glad to be back!
Happy New Year 😊🎉 Hope it’s been good to you!
Yeah!!
I'm not sure if it's a thing in the US, but in Australia we had this thing called Feb Fast... you'd raise money for charity by going without something... most people would choose alcohol, some would choose sugar... but I choose digital.
I'd work with computers, but that was my only screen time... once I was off the clock, I wouldn't look at any screens. No TV, no phones, no computers. I let everyone know (mainly so they could donate) so no one was worried for me.
It was an incredible month!
I had so much time... so much spare time. It was amazing.
I spent time cooking... I ate so healthily, I trained a lot, I pretty much went to bed at sundown (which in summertime in Australia is like 9pm) and I read. The first week was super hard, but I definitely got into the groove.
In Feb this year we're going to the Grand Canyon in our first US adventure, and I'm looking forward to the 10 days without wifi there too. It's important to disconnect so you can re-choice what you re-connect to.
This is now the only social media I interact with, but I like it, it's very thoughtful. I haven't posted anything to FB for years and Instagram has been silent for months. It's pretty great.
I'm always going to be excited to see you here... but please don't worry about creating the perfect post... it's not necessary. Post what you want to, don't post what you don't want to, there is so much information here we're not dependent on any one person's amazingness.... I think interacting and making friends is the funnest part of Steem... maybe even don't worry about making posts... you can actually make more from people loving your comments anyway.
That whole experience sounds so amazing! I haven’t heard of Feb Fast but donating to charity is such a great thing to do for others while also doing something for yourself! Love it. You sound like such a good person! Honestly just this little taste of unplugging was so refreshing and hearing others doing the same makes me want to continue with it all the more.
Thank you so much...sometimes I just get in my own head a little too much. This is a fun, no stress place to share. No pressure! :) I’m going to take your advice! Thank you for taking the time to write me!! Means a lot. Looking forward to your future posts!
Yeah, it's a pretty amazing concept...
... and if anyone asks you why you aren't drinking or eating office birthday cake, you just have to say Feb Fast they immediately understand and give you a supportive nod. Same situation but you answer 'diet' and it's a whooole big thing.
I'm an okay person, I'm definitely no Kobe.