When I was a (young) writer, I kept a daily journal. Part rant, part creative brainstorming, part drafting, and part self-exploration, I often wrote about myself as if I were a character in my stories. Distancing myself from the way I wanted to, but often couldn’t, react to my life’s experiences, was (unbeknownst to myself) a coping mechanism for growing up liberal and nonconformist in a very traditional and conservative family. It’s fitting that I should grow up to finally give myself permission to write publicly, albeit somewhat anonymously, under a pseudonym. I had to give myself permission to create a new persona, because it felt like cheating–and yet, although I was ready to write honestly and compelled to share my honesty with others, I wasn’t (am not) ready to make myself 100% vulnerable to the consequences of being 100% vulnerable. So, this is the beginning of my (mostly) full disclosure: (mostly) openly brazen, (mostly) unapologetic, and (completely) honest. Those who know me will know it’s me; those who don’t will get to know the me I might still be a little bit afraid to show them.
(mostly) full disclosure 