Repost: My life is not an open book

Originally published on January 27, 2017

male hands holding an open book
©️Mia Salminen

What you see is what you get, doesn’t really apply to me. I have a filter that protects me from prying eyes. It’s not that I want to hide the real me from others but I’m an introvert and we’re careful. I’ve also learned to be careful from past experiences. At home I can be myself but in public, I’m reserved. I have thoughts some might not understand. My life is not an open book and I want to keep it private. If I open up to a person, it’s someone I trust. The only one who knows the real me, is myself. Not even my parents knew. They only knew what I was when I was younger. I’ve never told them I write this blog for example. Some things you just want to keep to yourself. You need to do it. If I told everyone everything about myself, the mystery would be lost. That’s what life should be about. If you know everything about a person then there’s no surprises. What kind of life would it be?

People post about what they do on social media. Some keep updating things they’re doing at that moment. Who they talk to and where they are. I find that boring. I don’t care what you ate, if you took a shower, baked a cake or went to a birthday party. I don’t care about what your friends are doing or who they got engaged to. That’s what I keep seeing on Facebook. On Twitter I have ‘only’ 6125 tweets in 7 years I’ve been there. I don’t tweet nonsense. From time to time I do post things I do but that’s not regularly like most people do. I’m not trying to make a world record of tweets. When I have something important to say, I tweet it. I also hate selfies. Every time someone post one, I totally ignore it. Especially celebrities. Like they weren’t enough in the public eye already. If I want to see photos of them, I look for real photos taken by pros. Since camera phones were invented people think they’re all photographers.

Everyone seems to want to be like everybody else. I don’t want to be like everyone. I have a natural filter and know what to tell about myself online. If you read my about page, you know why I don’t post private things. Everybody seems to write about that. I dare to be different. Even though I have Instagram, I don’t post there much. To be honest, I find it a bit boring. It’s just isn’t my thing. I was excited at first when I could finally join last year but now I’m not that much. I follow 14 different one’s and that’s fine. For example I follow @cutepetclub because there’s so many cuties in it. Pets that is. I like looking at other people’s posts but when it comes to posting myself, I’m not that keen anymore. Sometimes I just scroll without looking because let’s face it, what people post there is boring.

I don’t have the urge to get people’s attention and that’s the same in real life. One on one conversations is good enough for me. I get really uncomfortable if someone looks at me. I wouldn’t make Youtube videos because I feel uneasy in front of a camera. It was different when I was a kid. I was cute then. I leave those things to others. I don’t go after things because they’re popular. I’m not the victim of commercials. It’s easy to judge someone by the first impression but I’m more than what people see when they meet me. People give up too easily when they do. That’s one of the reasons I find it hard to meet new people. It’s really their loss and not mine. I’m proud of who I am and if I were someone else, I would be my friend. I always say I’m my own best friend because who knows me best than myself.

A failed quest

Made in Canva

A failed quest

Have a quest?

Get a rest

A failed quest

Is the same as a private guest

A quest can be the best

But a failed one is a pest

Had a quest that failed?

Don’t worry; another one will soon be hailed

I only celebrate birthdays

kids birthday celebrations
My birthday when I turned 6 in 1983

I only celebrate birthdays and Christmas holidays. I don’t care about Valentine’s Day or Friend’s Day, as we call it in Finland. You should celebrate it every day. You don’t need to do it only on this day. I don’t know why you should have a particular day for it. Maybe it’s just a way to rub it on people doesn’t have friends or loved ones. Either way, it’s an unnecessary day.

When I was a kid, I had birthday parties. It was nice to get presents. We had cake and played put a tail on a donkey. That’s what I had when I turned 6. Birthdays were important then, but as older as you get, you don’t celebrate them the same way. Who wants to get old anyway? The last time I had a birthday party was when I was in 5th or 6th grade. Today all I need is a meal with dessert, and then that’s over. Last year I was at some kind of party, the Duran Duran concert. People only congratulate me on Facebook because that’s what the notifications say. I don’t get many congratulations anymore. Maybe they don’t care. Actually, I don’t get any responses on whatever I post. I only post for myself, so I don’t feel so bad.

I haven’t had any friends since 9th grade, but I have managed without any. The last time I saw my former classmates was over 20 years ago. I don’t even know if they’re still alive. You lose touch with people for different reasons, but that’s life. Some find new friends, but some don’t. In the filmmaking course I’m doing, I won’t have any contact with my classmates when it’s over in August. I talk to them, but that’s about it. Typically, I don’t have much in common with people. They’re not on the same wavelength as me. They’re not asking me anything either, so it feels like people don’t want to get to know me. It’s their loss. I have other things to think about.

Different people celebrate in different ways. Some have big parties where they go dancing, and some celebrate quietly at home. There are no right and wrong ways to celebrate. You do the way you feel like. I only celebrate birthdays and Christmas holidays quietly without a big fuss. For me, other celebrations are only an ordinary day among others.