we live in a giant bubble of information. much of it is good and interesting and thought-provoking, but some of the information we're constantly surrounded by is just plain inflammatory. we live in an age of hot takes and public streams of consciousness, an age where people not only have an opinion, but more than ever before, feel the need to share that opinion.
it's easy to get fired up, to argue, to get stressed or bothered by what someone else says or does. but we gotta start letting it go. stop worrying about a stranger's inconsequential opinion. does that person have authority over you in some way? do you respect that person? are they on your home team, your core group of closest people? no, no, and no? then let it go.
as i type, jess mendoza is becoming the first-ever female broadcaster of a postseason major league baseball game. no surprise here, but twitter's got some thoughts on that. plenty of crude jokes and misogynistic opinions and while i know i should take everything on my timeline with a grain of salt, i'd be lying if i said i didn't get a little angry for a moment. women in sports is kind of my thing, one of those things i'll fight for and read on and monologue about for hours. i had a sassy reply tweet drafted up in my head, and then i thought,
do i want this to be my story?
i don't want to be the girl who gets angry at internet strangers, who tries to stop the conversation but actually just pours more gasoline on the fire. there's these common phrases among the internet generation: "I don't usually post about this, but..." or "i never say these kinds of things, but this just needs to be said..."
so, um, just checking, you realize that's a complete and total contradiction, yes? by trying to separate yourself from the conversation, you really just jump right into the muck with everyone else. maybe this is just me being contrary, but i don't want to participate in those trending conversations. i want something different. something more important.
so we let go of the little things, the silly things, the sexist strangers on twitter and the anonymous haters in the comments section. it doesn't matter and it never will. set your eyes on higher things, my love.