Dress: Anthropologie Slubby Tulip Dress - Size M
Sweater: Anthropologie Micro-Striped Cardigan - Size S
Shoes: Kensie Girl
Necklace: Anthropologie Ombre Loom Necklace
"Who are you trying to impress, steadily creating a mess?" - Jose Gonzalez
My 10 year old son posted his first comment ever on the Internet the other night. He is really into watching other people talk about and play video games on You Tube, so he decided to weigh in with his 2 cents on one of the videos he watched. I was in the room with him while he was watching the video but had no idea he had left a comment until he came over and told me with excitement in his voice that he had left a comment and it had received 14 likes. I told him I was happy for him but warned him that he could get some dislikes too. I explained to him that if he got some dislikes, it was okay and not to take it too hard (Wish I could take my own advice sometimes). I, then, turned to Jerry and said, "Isn't it funny how at a very young age, we seek validation from others?" When my son got up the next morning, the very first thing he did was get on the computer and check the status of his comment.
I've been doing some Internet checking of my own lately, and I've unfortunately seen some not so nice things said about me on other websites. I know these people well enough by now to know what they will say. They will assume I have been scouring the Internet 24/7 looking for any mention of myself because I live for attention, negative or otherwise. However, just like everything else they talk about, it's not as dramatic as they would have you believe. The simple fact of the matter is when your blog activity jumps by 1,000 readers, you kinda notice it and you kinda want to know why.
The first thing I found was a post talking about not talking about me. Confused yet? You see, I'm the Voldemort of a certain website and their first rule of operation is to not mention my name, because, you know, I might get some page views and trigger the Apocalypse or something. It's funny because clearly the head honcho herself reads my blog. Of course, she claims to have not read it in months, but it's mysterious that she knows I've moved into a new house and even lol'd at my labeling of it as a "country home." You know, because all us small town bumpkins live in "country homes."
I find it really crazy the degree to which some people can spin things by making their own assumptions and conclusions. Like saying that talking about my son's behavior was "throwing him under the bus." This same lady said I should be more loving and supportive of him and that she can't imagine how awful it will be for him when he gets older and reads what I wrote. I don't know what it's like in her household, but it's not a fucking Hallmark card in mine. I stated the truth of what happened and talked in the comments about my resolution of it (which consisted of some pretty loving and supportive behavior considering the circumstances.) Oh, and I hope to hell he reads it when he gets older because he needs to remember what he did!
Next, I went over to another website, where I was being accused of lying about my size. I found out that I look like I'm a size 16, but I could possible be a size 12, but certainly not any size lower than that. Really? A size 16? It's funny because I Googled a size 16 and my measurements aren't anywhere close to that. Of course, I used to provide my measurements on here, but I got accused of lying about those. Since, technically, my waist measurement can change slightly if I have one too many cheeseburgers in a day, I took the measurements down and started posting the size of my clothing in each post. Now, I'm being accused of lying about the sizes. I guess I could start photographing the size labels. Of course, I already tried that once and was accused of focusing too much on size numbers. LOL! I'm the one focusing too much on size numbers... There was one poster who went out on a limb for me and said I might actually be a size 8, because all the big, shapeless sacks I wear make me look bigger. I found that really funny, because most people say I need to SIZE UP! In situations like these Jerry and I like to bring out our best game show host voice, look at each other, and say, "You can't win!"
The truth of the matter is that it's only human nature to seek validation from others. However, people go about doing it in different ways. There are the types like me and my son who put our honest thoughts and feelings out there in hopes there are others who feel the same way. And then there are those who get their validation from putting others down. On Friday, I put out a challenge on my Facebook page to all my critics to send me a picture and tell me a little bit about themselves. Since they are such experts on fashion and life, I thought this would be a good way for them to get some validation in a more constructive way. Sadly, I didn't have any takers. Oh well, I guess I can't change them any more than they can change me.
José González - Far Away
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