Everyone has their ups and downs. Part of what makes people human and not robots is the level and complexity of emotions. You’ve got to give people space to feel and express their emotions.

I used to have that space, here in this blog. My friend Ade calls it my Blue Period, where my posts would express my melancholy, but people could relate more to them and me. I was also pretty prolific during that time, posting twice a week.

Back then you didn’t have to fit into a niche. You could just have a personal blog about anything and everything and nothing — and people would read and respond and be touched by what you write.

Life gets in the way. More people start reading your blog, including your family and friends. Suddenly, you can’t talk about how certain conversations and situations made you feel because someone else’s feelings can get hurt because they surmise you’re talking about them. So you end up talking about the more superficial, innocuous things in your life, like fashion or events or travel or food, and you let the journal part of your blog slide into oblivion.

It’s gotten that way too, with Twitter. You tweet to vent minor frustrations, random witty or tongue-in-cheek observations, and strong opinions and reactions. And then more people start following and they don’t like what they see. They expect that this media and blogging personality should be full of pep and positivity — a perfectly manicured facade. That isn’t realistic.

Give me some space where I can feel blue. Then maybe in real life when you meet me you’ll find out I’m a happy person after all — because I’ve vented it all online.

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