Disclaimer, what you're about to read resembles a mass release of emotions more than a traditional article.

Why? I’ve had a busy last six weeks with an overwhelming amount of professional, personal, and digital interactions. But it’s officially August, and I typically use monthly transitions as an opportunity for reflective clarity or self-improvement.

Ironically enough, I’m writing today about the lack of clarity surrounding a concept in my cluttered, college brain.

So here it goes.

Being yourself is a pivotal foundation to finding happiness. And I want to believe that the logical next step is wholeheartedly placing faith in your own abilities and inventions, not shying away when an internet troll comments on your Instagram picture or Facebook video. People like being creative and serving a possibly selfish desire to broadcast uncensored versions of beliefs, thoughts or opinions. But is that rude, or insensitive?

I see this mindset supplemented in social culture in the phrases like, "express yourself, you do you, be who you are, don't let others dictate your feelings, or speak your mind.”

However, people's thoughts, emotions, and opinions – regardless of material or creativity – need to be more than a regurgitation of our conscious thoughts! It requires structure and at the very least, a filter. Self-control plays a massive role in this conflict. A need to be heard and understood fighting the human race's basic fear of judgment or (sometimes worse) embarrassment.

But parents teachers and mentors empowered us with little sayings like being the bigger person, showing restraint, putting yourself in the shoes of others to control our crazy selves.

We can’t read thoughts or emotions, unfortunately. Only words. We hear, process, and attempt to empathize with others through our finite, subjective understanding of the world around us.

Maybe the digital revolution has conditioned millennials into blurting out whatever reaction we feel, in person or online.

We tweet too fast, share an opinion on Facebook two minutes after finding it ourselves and somehow act surprised when someone/thing offends our lifestyle, hobby, religion, ethnicity, race, personality, creed, social status, political party, sex, sexual orientation–

Just typing all that gets me triggered. I hate conflict more than anything.

And the clearest understanding I have in these challenging moments is that I am me, I have an opinion, life, identity and periods of extreme stupidity.

They are them, have an opinion, life, identity, and periods of extreme stupidity.

WE are sharing this moment together and attempting to decode a multi-directional mess of verbal and visual communication.

Pause. Take a deep Breath. Make a decision.

Staring at computer screen: like, comment or unfriend.

Staring at human being: brush it off, open a (kind or heated) dialogue, or leave and maybe never return.

Please don’t take my ramblings as some sort of law. I’m human, you’re human and humans make mistakes.

So, to keep things simple, here's takeaway:

People are not machines. Although these machines display our faces, they are not us. And they are useless to help convey emotions or illicit legitimate empathy. Please, don't blame a screen for replicating a few pixels and characters. Be yourself, online and offline. But also, be forgiving. After all, everyone’s had a long day.