The author of this article, Brooke McAlary recounts her encounter with a woman at a conference that she attended. The woman commented to Brooke that she was nothing like the person she seems to be online. Her comment made Brooke reflect on herself and conclude that she is happy being the real her as opposed to her online facade. In the article she states, \u201c\u2026walls come down when we allow ourselves to be, well\u2026ourselves\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke McAlary writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.\u201d -Ralph Waldo Emerson<\/p>\n Recently I attended a conference where I met someone whom I can only describe as \u201cmy people\u201d.<\/p>\n For me, a relatively introverted, insecure woman, it\u2019s always a revelation when you meet someone you so readily connect with. It makes me think I mustn\u2019t be such a bad person.<\/p>\n This lovely woman and I hung out over the two days of the conference, laughing and telling stories and getting to know each other. At dinner on the final night, she turned to me and said, almost shame-facedly,\u00a0 \u201cI know we\u2019ve chatted on Twitter and email before, but in person you\u2019re nothing like I expected. I actually thought you\u2019d be a bit boring.\u201d<\/p>\n Some people might find that offensive, but I didn\u2019t. Because I knew she was right.<\/p>\n I put up a facade online, one designed to tell a particular story to a particular kind of person. But that facade isn\u2019t me. And really, it\u2019s no longer the person I\u2019m working to be either.<\/p>\n The real me is less bland and more human.<\/p>\n I laugh at inappropriate moments.<\/p>\n I have perennially messy hair.<\/p>\n I would prefer to clean the toilet than do the ironing.<\/p>\n I get really, really obsessed with ideas, people, and stories.<\/p>\n I protect my alone time fiercely and don\u2019t react graciously when it\u2019s taken away.<\/p>\n I talk in an American accent when I\u2019m quoting movies.<\/p>\n I am a Walking Dead fangirl.<\/p>\n And I\u2019m coming to realise that, really, I\u2019m OK with all of this.<\/p>\n In fact, when I embrace the real me \u2013 the one I am being when I don\u2019t feel the need to be another version \u2013 I feel good in my own imperfect, weird skin.<\/p>\n When I look at the people I am drawn to, the stories I remember, the ideas I share, they are all imperfect and weird and human and non-bland. It\u2019s what makes them interesting.<\/p>\n Read more HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n