I am generally of two minds: one that drives me to make a personal philosophy page and one predisposed to mock personal philosophy pages.
I feel that there are groups of bloggers on each side of this earnest/cynical divide. On the earnest side are mainly people openly striving to be artists - reflective, talented, serious women. I admire them for their openess and their drive to use their talent in an honest, beautiful way. I've discovered this side of myself recently - maybe without all the talent - and I find that these bloggers speak to that.
But they make me worry about naked turtles. I'm generally more comfortable with the bloggers on the other side, the people who are hardass and funny and have shells. I admire the fundamentally earnest ones, but, like Bianca Jagger admiring the Amish, those just aren't my roots. My personality up until the age of 23 was just a series of well-oiled interlocking defense mechanisms. I admire these bloggers for their humor and their practical tendency to protect themselves from the legions of people willing to spend chunks of their lives leaving hateful comments on the internets.
Of course the earnest ones can be funny and biting, and of course the cynical ones can write serious, reflective, interesting posts. And of course there are talented writers who regularly go back and forth, or walk the line, or whatever I'm trying to say - writers who I'm neither afraid for or afraid of.
The philosophy I've noticed myself developing since April 12th, since the decision to invest myself in this site, is that I'm going to try to go with both of these sides of myself. The earnest side can cringe and squirm when I write posts about the impressive stupidity of people and bodies of people not including myself, and the cynical side can eye-roll and harrumph and threaten to leave so as not to be seen in such company in public when I post 100 Things About Me. (Coming soon!) (Gah!)
PHILOSOPHY OF DOING STUFF
Susan Ertz (I don't know who that is) said, "Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon." True that, Susan Ertz. I don't believe in immortality, and kind of find it a relief; I can entertain myself for a lifetime's worth of Sunday afternoons, but eternity seems like it would be a stretch. The philosophy of doing stuff is born out of the fact that I have a lot of creative energy, and have been around people similar to myself in this way, but that translating potential into kinetic energy is difficult. Our time and our energy ought to be valued.