I really appreciate all of the positive feedback that so many of you gave me regarding the video I had posted on YouTube, but after some careful consideration (and some great advice from CTLB), I have decided to delete them.
Without getting into too many details, I had an incident a few years ago where I student of mine found my blog (not this one) that had some personal information on it. Nothing I had written about was that shocking or awful, but it became this whole terrible ordeal. I stopped blogging at all for several months, which absolutely killed me. And that’s when I began my Bella Blog anonymously. I really don’t want to stifle my writing, but at the same time, I don’t want to risk being put under the microscope like that. Unfortunately, teachers are held to a different standard than “normal people,” and while nothing I wrote about on the other blog was illicit or unexpected for someone who is over 30 years old, some of those things are definitely not things I wanted my students to know/read about me.
So, while I know that I probably wouldn’t have said anything questionable on my vlogs, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I feel like I’m already sticking my neck out there by linking to my TNT page. I’ve already gotten over $100 in donations from some of you wonderful readers, and I appreciate it more than you know. But I think that I’m also going to take down that direct link. For once in my life I’m going to err on the side of caution.
I am a teacher too and it is unfortunate that we don’t feel comfortable ‘shaking’ the persona and identity that we must put on and show as part of our profession. I would say most other professions don’t require folks to check their individuality at the door, they can just relate to their coworkers as themselves, but we get to wear this mask of propriety and we never really get to let our hair down and be our own original selves. Privacy, of course, is our luxury, but it is unfortunate that we sometimes keep ourselves so private that we don’t even hear our own voice or expression. I hope you don’t lose touch with that, the part of you that must be heard and listened to without filters, without monitoring the discussion, without grading the responses. Thanks for sharing yourself to the extent you feel comfortable!
Julia, what a beautiful, thought-provoking response. I completely agree with you, but I guess it’s one of those once bitten, twice shy cases. (Why am I so full of the cliches tonight?!).
One of the reasons that I kept this blog anonymous is so that I would write freely, without filters, and just express myself. The really cool part is that I have “met” so many wonderful people who have been pulling for me without ever having seen me (before a few weeks ago). It really is amazing what this weight loss blogging community can do for each other.
Again, thank you so much for your heartfelt response. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.
This makes a lot of sense, although I am disappointed to miss out on future videos. I’m glad I saw it before you took it down. The teaching aspect aside, I was thinking about how you occasionally mention the cute guys you meet. Possibly worse than a student finding your blog would be a crush finding it!
i’m going to miss them as well, and have to admit, was a bit envious of how public you could be…I’m sorry that your profession is keeping you back a bit, but who knows, in the end, maybe its for the best..You can stop the “worrying part” of blogging and just enjoy and type freely now:)
xo
Keep working ,great job!