Life on the Internet

After an approximately one month-long hiatus, I am back to blogging. Although it was an unplanned break, I do believe, dear reader, that it was also a much needed and much appreciated pause for the writer herself.

Sometimes I find myself thinking about my life as a series of blog posts. I turn my feelings and experiences into stories that I can share on this blog. During certain life events, I do not live in the moment; instead, I am thinking about how to write up that experience. Can I write a poem? Post a picture? Essay style, or creative non-fiction? A bullet list or five favorite things?

It's safe to say that I am not alone in this predicament. Simon Amstell, one of my favorite comedians, speaks about this in his shows. Instead of properly dealing with his emotions, he immediately numbs them by writing break-ups or binge eating episodes into comedy. When describing an evening in Paris with friends, he recounts: "and everyone's there, and they're running, and they're getting lost in the moment. And I'm going along with them and thinking 'Well, this will make a good memory.'" (Do Nothing).

Or like this xkcd comic:

Living on the internet, instead just living. 

And so I paused and just tried living a little. Instead of writing up my thoughts on a women's rights issue, I talked away an evening with my flatmate. I went to Mexico to work in an orphanage. I finished my first year of grad school. I got a tattoo (although, there probably will be a blog post about my tat soon). I danced to the same song over and over, instead of sharing the music video online. 

It's hard to find balance. In anything really. But balance is my goal, and now I'm trying to find the balance between blogging about the thoughts and life of an almost-adult living with depression while trying to save the world and actually living the life of an almost-adult living with depression while trying to save the world. 

But I'm back for now. And it's new summer. 

And I'm excited.