I think nearly everyone who is close to me laughs a little because I’m feeling-lady. I’ve had people tell me not to cry and I’ve actually had to explain that my tears were a natural expression of emotion and everything would be just fine. But, I also struggle to be more emotionally open to people, because I, like most Appalachian people, received a healthy dose of keep-your-private-business-private.
I tell my daughter she and her friends are the oversharing generation. It’s all on FB (or Instagram or Twitter or, or, or). And yet, she nurses her hurts in private, like most of us. I think they overstate in order to be engaging constantly, interesting at all times, and shocking. They live in a magazine layout or a liquor commercial because someone is always watching.
But it’s not genuine (speaking generally, not her specifically). They’re selling what their peers are buying. So, maybe we don’t need to ban them from Facebook or humiliate them on street corners. I get it. I might even do it, if I felt the situation called for it. I’m nothing, if not discipline inventive.
I’m just wondering, do we need to be teaching them less about what we find appropriate and more about being genuine? Might they (potentially) be more satisfied in their lives (and less likely to share inappropriate, bathroom-mirror selfies) if they were okay, their feelings were okay, their flaws were okay?
Just something this video, which I adore, of Mr. Rogers got me thinking about…
Tweet: On being feeling-lady, genuine, and okay. | @lorisizemore http://ctt.ec/03dhl+,/p.