My parents separated the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school, and as much as I wanted to internalize everything I was feeling, there was too much going on in my mind and I needed to express it in some way. I didn’t necessarily want to talk to anyone about it, but I needed to get it out one way or another, which was why I started my Tumblr.
One of the main reasons I started to write was because I like to obsess over things for a pretty long time before I get over it. And my Tumblr was the exact place I could do that without feeling like I was bugging anyone. And what I started to realize was that my Tumblr became a really consistent and reliable place where I could express everything and not feel like I was talking too much or too frequently about my problems. It became the one-sided friendship that I totally needed.
It’s the place where I can be selfish and solely talk about myself, and that is important. That’s why I’m writing this article, because I think that as humans, we need a place where we can be selfish and a place where we can brag about ourselves. But, we also need a place where we can express our sadness and anger as much as we want, and Tumblr can be both those places.
So, I wrote and I wrote and when I was happy I wouldn’t write as much, but then as soon as something drastic happened, I had an outlet, a place to go. I could post quotes I'd found, songs I’d heard, and things I wrote that were completely me with no fear of anyone getting sick of reading it because I was writing for one person, and that was myself. I didn’t tell anyone my username because I had no intention of being found. I didn't feel like there was a point to telling anyone, because this was about me and I figured it should be an outlet where I felt comfortable to post whatever I wanted without worrying if other people would be reading it or not.
I’ve found that writing can be very therapeutic and can heal most anything. I can’t guarantee that it’ll make the problem go away, but I can promise that after 15 minutes of writing about what upset you at school or about some societal issue that’s bothering you, you’ll feel heard and you’ll feel better. And that will help you get over things. Feeling heard helps. A lot.
Tumblr doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t leave. And in the last four years, it’s been one of the most consistent relationships I’ve had. There have been stretches of time where I’ve been so happy I didn’t need to write, and there have been times where all I’m doing is writing on my Tumblr. But at the end of the day, when everyone’s main priority is themselves (at least at this age), do this one thing for yourself and invest in something consistent. Something you can contribute to as much or as little as you want to.
Invest in a private Tumblr journal for your sanity. For the nights when it’s 2 am and you can’t sleep because you have too much on your mind. Invest for that first kiss story you have to write about so you don’t forget exactly how it all happened. Invest so that in four years when you’re laying in your bed, you can look back at your first journal entry from August 13, 2012, when you and your boyfriend just broke up, your parents separated, and you were feeling low. Invest so that you can look back at those journal entries and acknowledge how far you’ve come and remind yourself that the bad goes away and the good comes with time. Invest so that no matter what time of day it is or what is going on in your life, you have the opportunity to feel heard. It'll make all the difference.
