What limits should be placed on the things we write? Are there lines we shouldn’t cross? Should we attempt to breach certain conventions? Whose opinion and/or feelings is it okay to ignore?
I know that I’ve held myself back from writing about certain things. I’m afraid that I’ll upset or offend someone, usually my parents. I also think about the impact that my blog might have on my career or the perception people have of me at work. Maintaining a brand as a professional teacher and another as an amateur content creator (?) can be mutually exclusive at times.
It takes courage to put an idea into the world that may ruffle feathers. People like to be kept and held comfortable but we often find ourselves transformed by the things that upturn our perceptions and wrestle our restfulness.
It takes conviction, too, to stand by your ideas, especially when you know that they will grow and change, the same as you. “Cancel culture” has made it incredibly difficult to explore ideas freely, to work with them, mould them, and, finally, to present them. In a world where ideas can be spread so easily, we are streamlining what is “acceptable”. There is value in dissent. We mustn’t fight so hard to quiet the voices that speak truths we don’t hold ourselves. Instead, we should be working to better analyse and synthesis our ideas in an effort to prosper together.
Writing, for me, is the greatest form of self-expression. It’s how I’ve come to learn how to understand the world around me and to express that understanding. Writing is how I work with my ideas and bring the ideas of others together. It is powerful enough to touch the feelings of those who read what I write. At least, I think so, enough that I’m worried about some of things I write or want to write about.
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