raw emotions
I know that you sometimes write things in the heat of the moment, with a lot of passion. But then when you’ve calmed down, you go back and delete it, or edit it to sound more palatable. Remove the swears, the exaggerations, the insults, the black-and-white thinking, things that could be perceived as toxic or immature. And honestly, sometimes that’s good - if you go back and don’t relate at all or it is way overblown and hurting someone, please do delete or edit.
But I also love raw writing. I love when you can tell it comes from the heart, from that situation, and it’s about something very specific and vulnerable and created while the feelings were fresh. I don’t think we are always kind and understanding, always mellow and calm and levelheaded inside. That’s not how life is.
Sometimes we rant in our heads about the stupid parking situation, and that’s fine. You might feel childish and embarrassed about admitting you got heated over something, care about something so deeply, got upset, and didn’t consider all sides. But I get it, and I like it. It’s cathartic to read, it’s human, it’s bold. I like opinionated people. I like people who will rant and vent sometimes even if it’s silly. Who will draw a clear line and say: This sucks! Today, one of my coworkers suddenly blurted out “That’s bullshit!” in the middle of the meeting, and I loved that.
I like when you don’t retroactively self-censor just for feeling like you need to be more professional or mature. We can all sit around and pretend we’re very controlled and considerate beings constantly, but it’s boring. You end up feeling like some kind of sicko for having human emotions. But it’s normal! Sometimes we’re angry, we’re jealous, we’re controlling or toxic or needy or impatient and inconsiderate. Sometimes we crave attention and validation. Sometimes we wish we could force other people to do something.
People who have a shred of emotional intelligence and understand nuance know when something is a passionate outburst and won’t socially penalize you for it, thinking that’s your best behavior and moral baseline. I like when you make things public that you aren’t proud of, that we all hide, that we sugarcoat or only vaguely hint at. You should record a video screaming it, write a poem or song about it, or paint it on a canvas. I want to see it.
Published 03 Dec, 2024