Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic A Journal Dilemma

I mentioned this in another thread, but it kind of got lost amongst everything else. So, I thought I'd separate it out and see if I could get some help.

Here's the deal:

For the past week or so, I've been writing an online journal. I've been using it to get the more negative thoughts out of my head, and also to take some time to look back over the day and think. It's been good for me.

As things are, I've kept it private. Not by hiding the journal entries. They're available to anyone with the address. I just made it very unlikely that anyone would stumble on the address.

I think, maybe, it would be nice to have someone else look over it. It would make the journal feel more "real," in some way, and could provide another perspective on my thoughts.

OTOH, a journal is supposed to be kind of private. Although I tend to be rather open as a general rule, some vaguely defined thought says that maybe going "Hey, everyone, here it is!" isn't the best idea.

I also don't want to make anyone feel at all obligated to go reading through it. Not just because I don't want people to feel obligated in general, but because by its very nature, it tends to be more negative than positive, which would make for a less than pleasant read.

So, I'm not sure what to do. I've been trying to think it through, but I haven't managed to come to any useful conclusions. Share? Not Share? If share, with whom? How to go about sharing in such a way that individuals don't feel "Oh, he sent it to me personally. I guess I have to go take a look..." without posting fully publically? Or is there really a problem with posting publically? My hesitation feels mostly like habit.

I don't know. I can't sort through it all. So, I'm hoping some of you will have some thoughts on all this that will help me figure things out. Please, don't hesitate to post. Even if I don't like your idea, explaining why I don't like it may help me see things more clearly.

Thanks,

Paul

They say blogging is the cheapest form of therapy.

If it doesn't bother you that people read your private thoughts and emotions, go right ahead.

I never use my LiveJournal to write things that are too personal or emotional, but I know other who do, and that's perfectly fine.

Whenever I feel like I want to share my feelings through my journal, I ask myself if I like the idea of friends who read my journal to know what goes through my head on very personal topics. More often than not, the answer is no. I suppose I'm sort of like Lois.

If you'd be okay with it, it'd be fine. And I don't think many people would feel obligated. If they don't want to read it, they won't.

Julie

I'll vote for 'share with whom'...sort of. I blog. It's a great (free!) way for my friends and I to keep in touch. So I post the link in my AIM, and for me, that's sharing with friends because only people that talk to me on a regular (sort of) basis know my AIM name and know to look for the link to my blog. So with all of us that Xanga together, it's kind of like, we're not forcing our blogs on each other, but we also know that we're all invited to read up on each others' lives.

So I guess in general, posting publically doesn't bother me, because in this case, it's really not *that* public for me. My feeling on public links, in general, is that usually people who *actually* want to look at them are going to click them, as opposed to 1200 people scratching their heads saying, "Hey! I wonder what *this* is?"

JD