Welcome to the internet, the home of unsolicited opinions and online trolls.
That's what we get for having an open comments section and open social media accounts I guess. How many of you have wanted to start an online venture, whether it be a YouTube channel, a blog or a business but have found excuse after excuse because the thought of putting yourself out there gives you severe anxiety.
*slowly raises hand*
I'm basically writing this to confirm that the anxiety doesn't really go away, it's not always easy to ignore what people say about you, the internet can be mean and it is as cringey as it looks.
A Seat With Shay is a bit of an open diary for me, I tell the internet when I've had a hard time, when I've forgotten to wear a bra and you all pretty much know about how socially awkward I am because I mention it every 5 minutes to try and distract from the fact that I am so socially awkward. After 2 years at this thing I could walk down the road and have no idea that the person opposite me may have been on my blog last night.
I go out sometimes and people come up to me and tell me they love my blog, first of all 'hi, thanks for reading. I love you 4 life.' and second of all, ew people actually know things about me and I cannot control their opinions, how they interpret my content or basically anything about how I'm perceived online and I think that is where the fear of putting yourself in the public comes in for a lot of people, understandably.
Starting this blog was easy peasy, I enjoy writing and it kind of feels like I take a back seat and the blog does the work on it's own. YouTube was a struggle for me (I haven't uploaded in 2 years so I won't link it), I found it very hard to be myself on camera because I'm just not a 'put myself out there kind of person' even in real life. Most of my interactions with people I don't know are jokes or sarcasm (my safety blankets). Let's not even get in to small talk, the most awkward type of talk to ever be invented.
Videos bring a whole new level to online criticism, it's not just your pictures and words. Your appearance, clothes, home background, taste in furniture, laugh, mood, eating habits, make up skills, editing, parenting skills aaaand more.. are all being judged simultaneously. Wonderful and encouraging, I know.
(not trying to put you guys off)
But i'll be back because I enjoy creating content and I think it will be a great addition to the table, of course.
Every single person who has an online presence receives online criticism whether it is constructive, validated or brutally unfair. H&M, Maya Jama, Kim Kardashian, Pusha T and Drake have all been subject to recent online scrutiny. Some have been brought on by themselves and some are just the internet being the internet. I do not agree with everything Kim Kardashian does and I have seen that naked body more than enough times however a woman has been set free because of the action she has taken and even though yes, it is an opportunity for both Kim and that president to be seen in a positive light, it is also putting a light on a very important issue.
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There is no safe space to 'putting yourself out there', even if you don't reveal too much people will still talk. That's people for you, we judge, gossip and write judgemental comments under The Shade Room for likes even though we would probs cry if we saw that same comment about ourselves.
Don't let the opinions of people you don't know effect how you want to live your life, live your life for you. There is enough space for every single one of us to spread our creativity online. If I see someone has already done an idea I've been working on, I'm still going to do it because there is absolutely no one who can create something the way that I can and the same goes for you. As long as you are protecting your mental health at all costs then I say DO NOT HOLD BACK AND DO NOT DEPRIVE THE WORLD OF YOUR MESSAGE, YOU MAY CHANGE SOMEONES LIFE.
Start the blog, start the business and send your message.
Love, Shay.
