Online Personas

Today is the 4th of July, and I'm sitting here at OU (still haven't moved out of Norman yet) browsing the internets. It's pouring hard outside. And the forecast up to Friday just has pictures of lightning, so it looks like it might be that way all... week... long.

I hope this doesn't make moving too difficult. And I hope the apartment we turned in an application to calls back soon. I think I'll just give them a call tomorrow, see what is going on.

So having a room is nice. It does get a bit lonely sometimes though. My closest friends are gone. But I find ways to pass the time. Just been watching many films, readings a bit here and there, but I haven't done what I really want to do yet though, and that is to sit down and write. Not this kind of writing. Not documenting. More like creative writing, I haven't done that yet. And I have a desk. What's stopping me? I don't know.

I have a lot of time to think now that Chris is gone, because I don't always have to do something. So I find myself staring off into space a lot, and letting my thoughts carry me away.

Guess I just have to wait for the inspiration, or look for it. The question is, where to start looking.

With this rain, today doesn't even feel festive. I don't feel any nationalist pride. I don't even feel a need to see fireworks. I updated my FB status to say "happy 4th everybody," but it's not that happy. It just is. Leads me to think about how status updates don't always reflect the real mood of the person. It is just a mask. Heck, the internet is just a mask. We sit behind this shield. We can say whatever we want, most of the time, without getting physically harmed, without any confrontation. My own update is an example of how fake internet personas can be. We create these personas, and update them when and how we see fit. In real life, we create personas, but it is not so easy to update them. We have to spend money in real life, waste time, educate ourselves, change outfits, etc... Online, we just have to change the "interests" section of the profile, or any other section. We can create new personas even. Personas that don't reflect the real person in the slightest. We can join groups without ever having to leave our home. All of this is in our reach. The whole world is in our reach. We just decide which way to reach.

That's all I got for now. I should go out and do something. But what on a rainy day?

-Leo