I Was Wrong(and it went viral)

When I first began this blog, I was a completely different person. It was never my intention to go viral. I just wanted to put my two cents out into the world as a person who was busy, active, thinking about school, managing my mental health and so much more. I ALMOST had my shit together, on a day-to-day basis at least. So, the content I put out reflected that.

However, over the last two years, my life has changed dramatically. I’ve had to combat a new life of chronic illness, bad mental health, drastic lifestyle changes, etc. So, as I was reflecting on my most viral post, I realized something and my stomach dropped. I no longer believe in something I said two years ago, which is fine, people grow. However, when I’ve been wrong in the past, it’s been a matter of contacting a few people and fessing up. But this post, in particular, has been viewed on my blog 288K times. It has been repined on Pinterest 65K times. Across platforms it has been read nearly 400K times, which is amazing for this one-woman show. In terms of my content, this post was going viral. So, who do I fess up to?

I wrestled with how to do this and just chose to take the original route again and hope for the best.

In my post 7 Ways to be A More Put-Together Person, I address ways to maintain daily practices that allow you to be more organized, or put-together, and to be honest, some of the things I said, don’t apply to a lot of people. Unfortunately, I was too steeped in my own privilege to see that before. I have diagnosed chronic depression and anxiety, but when I wrote this, I was in a good place( and on medication) and trying to ‘push positivity’. I still believe that when you’re in a healthy state of mind, and physically capable, these things can apply to you. The information is still motivational for those who can use it. However, even under those conditions, one of my points, needs to be addressed.

We sacrifice being able to say, “I’m not okay.”

The very last tip I give, is to ‘fake it until you make it’ or ‘believe it’ and it will come true. I need to clarify. Over the last two years I have become chronically ill and lost so much of my autonomy. One of the results of that is that I’ve had a lot of time to reevaluate my stance on things. I’ve come to realize that ‘faking it’ can be a double-edged sword. Yes, it can place you in a positive mindset, however it can also allow you to get lost behind a lie. Sometimes, those of us faking it are only doing it for the comfort of those around us, and in-turn, we sacrifice being open and honest. We sacrifice being able to say, “I’m not okay.” Everyone should have the right to say, “Im not okay, I need help, I need to be heard.” Free from judgement or persecution.

The idea of faking it, means well, but it also leads some to believe that appearing to have it together is more important than having it together. I do not wish to be apart of that narrative. I want you to know that faking it, to me, means just aiming for a positive mindset when it seems impossible. Faking it means telling yourself there are reasons to keep pushing, even when you don’t necessarily believe there are, just so that you don’t give in. But also, faking it utterly and completely up to you. YOU DON’T HAVE TO FAKE IT. I say all of this to say, if this post serves as a good motivator for you, enjoy it, but please do remember that you are not obligated to put on a show for the comfort of others.

So, will this post go viral? Help a girl out, send it to anyone you think could use this. Talk to you later guys.