When I first created this blog I decided to have my name on it instead of opting for the anonymous approach. Adding personal stuff (like the army story and poems) was hard at first but I knew not too many people read the blog and that there is nothing to fear in terms of exposure. Also, having an anonymous blog always makes you feel like you’re hiding – there’s always the danger of being exposed some day. I didn’t want that.
As more people started following the blog I posted less personal stuff on it. It happened naturally so I almost didn’t feel it. But now, after the trip, I do feel it. A coworker of mine told me he started reading the army story and stopped because he was too embarrassed for me. He also said I should take it down. Taking down a story only makes it harder, not impossible, to find, so I won’t take it down. In addition to that, the army story provides young people who are struggling with the army some comfort in knowing that they’re not the only ones having a hard time in the IDF. I know that because they told me and people reach this blog a lot from Google by looking for the Hebrew terms for military prison and military psychiatrist.
So now I want to go back to writing in a more personal manner. I still wish to keep the privacy of others so that means some of the things I will not be able to post, no matter how much I want to. But there are still things I can write about.