Swimming against the Current

I am not about to make a deeply personal revelation. I do not have a dramatic past to shed light on. I have not overcome tremendous hardship in my life and have not demonstrated particular resilience in face of the few adversities I experienced. Nor have I have been particularly traumatized by the events in my life. I do not have a rare health diagnosis, or a mental health condition to bring out in the open. When I could, I took distance from toxic people and situations to preserve my sanity and avoided playing the sympathy card. I am not more impacted by Brexit, or the pandemic, than the people on my street.

I am not unique or different in any way. I do not identify as #superopenminded and #uberpoliticallycorrect. There are areas of my life where I am, in fact, quite #boringlytraditional. I look around me at the world and I live by the ‘cogito, ergo sum’ principle – but I do it all in my own, self-contained way.

People of the community, there are ways to connect, especially on a professional forum like Linkedin, without wearing our personal life and vulnerabilities like a badge of honor. For those of you who absolutely need to wear your heart on your sleeve – go ahead, it’s a free world. But there is also dignity in silence, strength in stoicism, and there is a time and a place to pick our personal revelations. We are all allowed to have a voice online – dull and uninteresting as it may be.