What was she thinking when she decided to write about herself in a blog?
She’s an introvert. Now if you ever took the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator, you know that the word introversion doesn’t necessarily imply shyness. As based on the theories of Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, introversion simply means you are inward-turning. Interacting with people and being around noise and activity draw on an introvert’s energy so that they need to retreat to a quiet place to reflect and regroup, while extraverts get energy FROM the commotions of everyday life and crave that outward stimulation. Life is all about interactions with other people. How could the life of someone who would rather be alone in a room be interesting? It would be tedious for the writer and mind-numbing for the reader.
Mimi spends her work day in a cube on a floor with more than 100 cubes and teams rooms in a building with nearly 600 people who work on the same monotonous IT program. She wears headphones to block out the world, but they don’t keep out the noise, the ringing phones, the flashing instant messages, or the inbox full of emails waiting to be read and acted upon. At the end of the day chained in a cube, she still has to get into her car alone instead of finding someplace where she can laugh and talk and let it all out.
She says she thinks people see her as bashful, but she doesn’t prove that she is not afraid to speak. She doesn’t join in the debates about how the latest reality show will end the season or harangue her coworkers with complaints about the boss. How does anyone know where she stands? Often it seems like she is tuning people out. She is obviously a listener and an observer, not a storyteller.
The unedited bank of photos from her recent trip to Italy was just plain weird. Most people take photos of themselves in front of the Learning Tower or the Vatican, but her photos were mainly of marble floors and rock gardens, of people she didn’t even know sipping wine in cafes, or of drawings or mosaics –- but she cuts the heads off most of the statues and gets so close to the mosaics that you can only see a small portion. A note pad of some sort is her constant companion, but it’s full of weird doodles and lists. The pages may mean something to her, but not to an audience. There’s hardly a line that could be considered revolutionary or newsworthy.
According to a 2010 article in the US News and World Report, more than 50% of Internet users are under the age of 45. Since she is firmly planted at the very top of that demographic, it’s doubtful that the mostly much younger Internet user would be interested in the musings of an old woman. She is definitely no longer young and cool.
Writing a blog is about readership and a blog about an aging Midwestern introvert is unlikely to attract an eager audience. If I were her, I would reconsider and find a topic that she can research and learn from while providing some entertainment to her readers.
I remember your initial post well. It was a good attempt but was lacking a little bite. Well, you've taken a hunk out of yourself this time. I feel like a hypocrite for saying this but you have take it a little easier on yourself. It goes without saying that I disagree wholeheartedly with the claims your devil's advocate makes, but I can't fault your effort. You've definitely put into words the only possible, and I would say misogynistic, argument someone could make against a blog from a midwestern wife. Your language is, to say the least, strong and highly critical. I major step in the right direction from the original. Great work! I still disagree, though.
ReplyDeleteYou've certainly played the role of "Devil's Advocate" well here. For the record, I don't buy it. I think that, because you don't blab in the office to everyone and you prefer collective time, your story is that much more interesting than the stories of others.
ReplyDeleteI'm an extrovert. I'm out there every day for the world to see, and I thrive off that bouncy interaction with others. Yet, my best friends and even my boyfriend are introverts. I am drawn to people who are quiet, who seem shy, who need that layer peeled back before they'll open up. And when the layer is peeled back, what they have to share is amazing, and often so much different than what I had expected. I think you writing about, well, you, will provide your readers with some real surprises. It may even leave you with a revelation or two.
Back to the assignment - you write this piece well. It is powerful and argumentative, critical. It keeps me reading throughout - statements like: "The unedited bank of photos from her recent trip to Italy was just plain weird." To me, this sounds like something a gossipy girl in a clique would say about someone different than herself. I personally hate cliques and can visualize that mean girl making this very statement.
Great job painting a picture with your words.
I have to admit being the mean girl was really fun!
ReplyDeleteWith the posting you can see the time and effort that you put into the re-write and making it better. I really liked the first post, but this brings it to the next level. I love how you describe your office and how you play such a "small" role. One of 100 cubicles and one of 600 people. You can feel the pace of the office when you describe the full inbox, the flashing lights, along with the other sounds and motion. I to also love to take pictures of objects instead of actual monuments.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you refer to yourself as the third person. The way you describe introverted was awesome.As I continue to read through the posts I try to look the words up that I don't understand but what you said about being introverted I did not know. I always though it was more quite and shy. Thank you for teaching me something new!
ReplyDeleteGreat rewrite, Mimi! I laughed out loud when I got to the part about your photos being "just plain weird." You argue against yourself, yes, but at the same time you prove your Devil's Advocate wrong. I want to see that batch of photos, because you make them sound intriguing. People relate to quirks. (You like to cut the heads off statue photos. I like to try to guess the answer to the Word Jumble riddle in the Sunday paper, before I decipher the actual words.) When I read this, I feel that I would love to read a blog about this "aging midwestern introvert."
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to let the mean girl voice out! Then stash her back where she belongs and write what you want to write. Nice job with this assignment.