Hiding Behind Words

Writing can be challenging and even problematic at times. As a person that enjoys writing, it's easier for me to put my words down on paper before I speak. It's easier to articulate. I'm able to erase, change, and rearrange. This flexibility makes writing a blessing and a curse. It's hard to find "perfection" when given the ability to continue changing.

There is also the problem of a ghost writer. Are there more people behind the name that is stamped on the piece of writing? I remember sitting around with my girlfriends contemplating how I should respond to a text I was about to send to a guy. We twisted words and phrases in order to make sure it was just perfect. After all, we wouldn't want the receiver to get the wrong idea. I always wondered if guys did that too; my guess would be no.

In the digitally-charged world that we live in, it's easy to hide behind words. We can send a text rather than call. We can write an email instead of talking face-to-face. It's getting harder to know when it's appropriate to communicate in certain ways. Sometimes it's obvious (don't break-up over a text). Other times it's more difficult (call if you have a person issue to discuss). Now, I'm not the etiquette queen, but I do think we need to be a little bit more considerate when communicating about personal issues. It's easy to hide behind words. But, do we want to sacrifice someone's feelings just because it's "too hard" to have a conversation face-to-face? If you ask me, it's cowardly. Instead of hiding behind words, consider others. Consider how you come across in an email. After all, what isn't personal to you may be to someone else.