Hi, my name is Hannah. But you may know me as "the girl who skipped the party stage."
I am a pretty normal girl, or at least I would like to think so. I live in Ohio where I am a communications major at Walsh University. I've always loved writing, which is why I am a content creator for Odyssey. I love to talk, absolutely adore cats, and at any given time can probably be found at a local coffee shop. Like I said, I am a pretty normal girl.
But a few weeks ago, when I wrote an article that went viral, life got a little crazy and not-so-normal.
I woke up and was pretty impressed because my article had 150 shares on Facebook, more than any that my previous writing had gotten. Throughout that day, though, that number kept climbing: 5,000...10,000. I honestly was in utter shock watching the numbers increase. Within a few days, my piece had more than 200,000 shares on Facebook and 750,000 page views.
You may have read the original article, titled "From The Girl Who Skipped The Party Stage." You may have even read one of the dozens of articles that countered my stance. Regardless, there were hundreds of thousands of eyes reading what I had to say. It's needless to say that when an article goes viral, people of the internet always have something to say about it.
Over 700 comments, messages flooding my inbox, and dozens of articles in response to my own led me to write this article. A response to your responses. Enjoy.
Ninety percent of your responses were extremely respectful. Surprisingly, even most of the negative feelings toward my article were expressed to me deferentially. A huge thank you goes out to every last person who expressed their opinion -- good or bad -- with dignity.
The other ten percent of you though -- yikes. One person claimed that I was most likely a "defensive introvert," while another's response was simply to call me a "loser." Another gentleman went to the depths of commenting on my profile picture, saying he could tell by the looks of me that I probably just wasn't invited to any parties.
To those people, I am not sorry the slightest bit. Regardless, I do not owe anyone an apology for exercising my freedom of speech, but particularly not to those who used hate in an effort to tear my writing down.
But to anyone I genuinely offended, I am truly sorry for that. I understand that I may have generalized a group of people. But concurrently, you should try to understand the difficulty of expressing an opinion in a 400-500 word article. I understand that there is a rhyme and reason for every action, and that no group of people can be generalized. In an open discussion, I could've expressed that. In 400 words, not so much.
There is no fine line that defines a person and even if there was, I am not in a position to label anyone. Am I leading a 100-percent sober, virgin lifestyle? Absolutely not. The point behind my writing was to express that I can't respect those who place alcohol, drugs, and sex, aka the stereotypical partier trifecta, on their list of priorities -- not to bash or "slut-shame" any student that picks up a beer or dates around.
If you are that person, awesome. I did not write to attack your lifestyle -- I wrote to reflect on my own. And you know what, I am sure as hell glad that I did because thousands of girls could relate to how I feel and reflect on their similar decisions with pride.
Nonetheless, your words do not define me just as much as my words don't define you.
Despite some of your comments, I am not missing out. I mingle and have just as great of conversations as you. I am beyond extroverted, almost to an unhealthy extent. My college experiences will be full of laughter and fun. The experiences that I gain and the people that I meet will be during my travels to Europe this spring, throughout my internship, or at the coffee shop on campus -- not at a party. That's how I choose to live my life to the fullest and I am more than OK with it.
Sorry, I am still really not sorry that I'm skipping the party (but you should go if you want to).
