Is Honesty the Best Policy?

So I was trying to think of things to write that would be more interesting and I realized, my blog is pretty freakin' boring. You know why? Because I don't really say everything I'm feeling or experiencing. I'm not saying I should include absolutely everything on mind, but I think I try to control my virtual identity too much.

While doing my thesis research, I've discovered that the women I'm interviewing have some interesting thoughts regarding their identities on social media. When asked if they represent their "true" selves on Facebook, each one has always answered "yes." However, one of my interviewees stated that she thinks that people represent their true selves online but they choose which aspects to represent and which to leave out. For example, this woman stated that she only chooses to display aspects of her personality and life that appear exciting, interesting, and nice. I feel like this on my blog.

I don't write about my super crappy days that reflect negatively on me. Sure I write about bad things that are out of my control, but not issues that may be my fault (struggling in my marriage, feeling like I'm failing in my academic pursuits, etc.). Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that maybe I should be a little more honest on here. The blogs I enjoy reading are often brutally honest, not ones that make the author's life appear perfectly put together. That being said, we'll see how this goes on my next blog post (which hopefully will come before three months!).

Research Inspiration

One of the inspirations for my social media research is Jenny Ryan's The Virtual Campfire.

This site is the digital version of her thesis research:

Based on five years of participant-observation on the social networking sites MySpace, Facebook, and Tribe.net, The Virtual Campfire explores the increasingly blurred boundaries between human and machine, public and private, voyeurism and exhibitionism, the history of media and our digitized future. Woven throughout are the stories and experiences of those who engage with these sites regularly and ritualistically, the generation of "digital natives" whose tales attest to the often strange and uncomfortable ways online social networking sites have come to be embedded in the everyday lives of American youth.

Check it out: http://www.thevirtualcampfire.org/

Check Out This Blog

So Corey and I started a new blog that is currently entitled "Stuff My Family Says" until we can come up with a more original name. Check it out: http://stuffmyfamilysays.blogspot.com.

Home Sweet Home... Almost

So Tim and I just bought our first home! Very exciting! The whole process moved quite fast because the house had been on the market for a while and the owner was eager to sell (like all houses in this market, I'm sure). There had only been one owner who purchased the house new in the 1950s. He passed away a couple of years ago and left the house to his neighbor who had been taking care of him. The neighbor works with horses and needed money to build a new horse barn and, therefore, was eager to sell the house. We got an amazing deal on it and it's in a great location. Here's the kicker: it needs a lot of work! At first glance, the house is definitely in livable condition. However, we have problems with moisture in the crawl space and some other issues. Tim has remained positive and is working with his dad to find the best solutions to these problems. I'm so thankful to have a husband who is so open minded and such a hard worker. He was so worried that I wouldn't want a fixer-upper, but, honestly, I couldn't imagine getting any other type of house. I'm very excited to move in! Our lease on our apartment is up March 20, so it has to be before then. Hopefully we'll start moving in by the end of February. I'll keep you posted on the process!

Too Much To Write About

So it's been way too long since I've posted. Here is my life over the past 1.5 months:

1. Christmas - NYC was amazing. I'm IN LOVE with my parents' apartment.
2. Found out mom had cancer, it was removed, but there's a 50% chance it could come back in her lungs.
3. Bought a house.
4. Started 2nd semester of graduate school. Busy, busy, busy.
5. My baby boy (dog) is very misbehaved. Must get him formal training. Am loosing my mind.
6. Lots of work to do on new house before we can move in.
7. Walking about 543,342,234 dogs each day.

Whew, glad we got that out of the way. Will write more later.