So this week there was a letter to the editor printed in Scroll ( The BYU-Idaho newspaper- I am the Lifestyle/Arts&Entertainment editor of said paper) that had some not-so-nice comments pertaining to a column I wrote. This letter also shredded me personally and suggested that I should no longer be allowed to write for any publication.
Yesterday, I got another one that said pretty much the same thing, and Scroll is printing it.
Again.
Ouch.
Not only is this hurtful, it is embarrassing. In the time I have been writing opinion columns I have received a lot of positive reinforcement, and so this experience has been a real shot to my ego. Also, usually people like me, so this is an especially unfun experience- This is the first time in my life I have ever recieved hate mail.
It is difficult to have so many people so upset by an opinion which I meant entirely as an entertaining piece of work- it was not my intention AT ALL to offend.
Anyway, this morning I woke up and I realized that this situation is actually incredibly empowering, for several reasons.
A. There is now a lot of controversy surrounding my writing, which means that people will go out of their way to read it because that crazy Jessica Black girl wrote it. No such thing as bad publicity right?
B. The people who wrote the letters had a point, I probably sounded like a spoiled little girl in the column and I need to be much more mindful in the future of the way I am presenting myself. Now that I am aware of this I can improve- which is pretty much the whole point of life, to learn and improve-right?
C. Now that I don't have social approval, I no longer have to seek after it. I am no longer hesitant to cause controversy for fear of negative social consequences. It is almost like the people who wrote those letters have given me permission to really write what I feel and not be so concerned about the reaction of others. They have given me the ability to effect social change with out the constant concern of whether I will offend or not. Apparently I am already offensive enough, without even trying. I now feel confident that I can say what I truly believe without fear of uncomfortable repercussions.
This whole experience has made me realize what a great responsibility it is to write. I have learned that I need to be more mindful of what I am writing and how it could effect people. I need to be less caught up with entertaining, and more concerned with edifying.
I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity to learn- and although this experience has thrown me for a loop and caused me to not preform so well in school the last week or so, I am confident that I will be able to recover from this and continue to write things that I really believe in, in the future.
PS- if this blog was offensive to anyone, sorry- I'm working on it- promise :).
Yesterday, I got another one that said pretty much the same thing, and Scroll is printing it.
Again.
Ouch.
Not only is this hurtful, it is embarrassing. In the time I have been writing opinion columns I have received a lot of positive reinforcement, and so this experience has been a real shot to my ego. Also, usually people like me, so this is an especially unfun experience- This is the first time in my life I have ever recieved hate mail.
It is difficult to have so many people so upset by an opinion which I meant entirely as an entertaining piece of work- it was not my intention AT ALL to offend.
Anyway, this morning I woke up and I realized that this situation is actually incredibly empowering, for several reasons.
A. There is now a lot of controversy surrounding my writing, which means that people will go out of their way to read it because that crazy Jessica Black girl wrote it. No such thing as bad publicity right?
B. The people who wrote the letters had a point, I probably sounded like a spoiled little girl in the column and I need to be much more mindful in the future of the way I am presenting myself. Now that I am aware of this I can improve- which is pretty much the whole point of life, to learn and improve-right?
C. Now that I don't have social approval, I no longer have to seek after it. I am no longer hesitant to cause controversy for fear of negative social consequences. It is almost like the people who wrote those letters have given me permission to really write what I feel and not be so concerned about the reaction of others. They have given me the ability to effect social change with out the constant concern of whether I will offend or not. Apparently I am already offensive enough, without even trying. I now feel confident that I can say what I truly believe without fear of uncomfortable repercussions.
This whole experience has made me realize what a great responsibility it is to write. I have learned that I need to be more mindful of what I am writing and how it could effect people. I need to be less caught up with entertaining, and more concerned with edifying.
I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity to learn- and although this experience has thrown me for a loop and caused me to not preform so well in school the last week or so, I am confident that I will be able to recover from this and continue to write things that I really believe in, in the future.
PS- if this blog was offensive to anyone, sorry- I'm working on it- promise :).
I'm just figuring out how to be a person
hahahahahahahaha I love you jessica!
ReplyDeleteIdaho is too small for you thats the problem
small minded and just danged small