Sunday, April 29, 2007

The Difference between Virtual and Reality

It's interesting. This title has been a draft for a very long time, but for some reason I never actually finished writing the post...so it's kind of apropos that I finish it now, as I finish posting.

I've met various people over the course of my short lifetime, and the subject of the Internet has come up quite often. Some people couldn't get along with it, more couldn't get along without it. I worked with someone who had friends from all over the world due to an online game he played, but had very few in real life, because he never actually spent physical time with people. It sorta got me thinking.

Am I like that? Does having a blog, and the ego-boosting comments that go with it, seperate me from real life? Is virtual reality more important to me than real reality?

It really hit home a few days ago (well...now it's a few months ago, but I still remember the event), when it got very personal, and I realized that I don't apply the same standards to myself that I apply to others. If I think that others should spend time with people and not screennames, then I should be doing the same.

I won't deny it. This is very hard for me. I enjoy sharing my thoughts with the world, and seeing the responses of the collective world to them. But I refuse to say one thing and do another. (I might occasionally comment on other people's blogs, though. Or is that hypocritical also? If I know the person in real life, or if I've made such a close connection with them...I'm not sure. I'll have to see.)

I'm still around. My email hasn't changed...

I'm saving this as a draft for a few more days to think about it. I've been around for a while, so it'll be weird to stop. I sure hope that I can, for sooo many reasons.

Later edit: This has been a very important experience for me. I've met and been touched by many people, with whom I truly would like to remain in contact. Again, my email hasn't changed (although I check that email less periodically than I used to).

עלו והצלחו (Rise up and succeed), and may we be truly be zoche to love one another, as well as our incredibly beautiful heritage, and bring a גאולה שלימה בקרוב.

The End?

Having come to the end of another semester, I was going over the blogs on my favorites to see how everyone was doing, and if anything happened over the last 4 months or so. It was interesting to note that out of about 25 blogs that I had been checking regularly, only about 5 had been continuously posting since I'd taken my break for school and work and other such things.

And I've been the same. I'm thinking of stopping. Not necessarily for good, but I certainly won't be posting as regularly as I used to. Real life has gotten to be too important (no, not in that way...y'all would probably know if something happened in that area) - and real people need me.

I can't say that I'll never be here again. Amazing things happen, good things, in this world, and I think it's important that people know about them and share the wealth of positivity, and so I might come back occasionally to do so.

I am going to post a piece above that I wrote quite a while ago when I thought I was going to stop blogging, as it expresses my feelings about the matter in general.