Choosing not to post everything

I really did.

I did not mean to tease.

It was not a big media stunt to announce that I was going to post something big on 3/13 and then not follow through.

I’m not that kind of girl.

But.

I talked to a few people who advised me against doing it.

And then I talked to Kristen Lamb who wrote this blog in response to my dilemma.

Yeah, the thing I planned to write was something that was going to offend somebody.

And even though Kristen said “every word of my post” was “illuminated in excellence,” she also said it wouldn’t be smart to post it.

I have wrestled with this: how much of me to share, how much to keep private.

If you’ve been here for a while, you have seen me dance, heard me talk, read emails I have received, been with me when I fell down a flight of stairs. You’ve been stuck in elevators with me and seen me fret over students who cheat and students who bully. You’ve seen me meltdown. You have come to know me as a parent and a teacher. And, of course, a silly doofus.

This other piece of me — while it is decidedly me — isn’t right for the blog.

Kristen helped me understand that being mindful about what I put out to the world does not mean I am weak.

That choosing not to publish my piece is not an act of cowardice.

I can still write pieces like the one I had planned to post here today.

But.

It doesn’t mean that everything I write has to be published here.

What do you think? Is your life an open book? Will you write about anything? Or are these places that you are not willing to go? How do you determine your boundaries about what you share and what you keep to yourself?

If you feel cheated and would like to read one of my favorite old posts that got very little traffic back in the day, click here.