on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog

I've been inactive here for long stretches of time. Some self-discoveries have happened, and it turns out I was using Dreamwidth in a way that really didn't work for me. Viewing DW first and foremost as a way to make friends, I sort of backed myself into a parasocial corner, where I felt an obligation to the people here and got stressed out about it. (This is a me problem, a lifelong thing, not any specific people on here.) I may go through and change the privacy settings on my existing posts here.

However, I think there is a way DW can work for me. I need to treat it more like a journal, logging events in my life so I can look back and see what happened when, so I can contextualize memories and work through my shit. I need to start from scratch in order to do it. I'll be changing the way I post, tag, and interact. My approach to my circle, access lists, and privacy will likely also change.

So I'm switching journals. I might still be inactive for long stretches on the new journal (ADHD is like that) but I think I'll be cultivating a useful resource for myself, rather than just a place to shout into the semi-anonymous void.

For personal reasons, I don't want to connect the usernames publicly. If you want to know where I've gone, DM me. I still get emails for comments here. Wishing you all well.