Thank you so much Gie Santana. I really appreciate you taking the time to read it and tell us your thoughts in the comments. I’m new here but I’m excited to make some new friends, read some interesting stories and poems, and do one of my favorite things; have conversations with strangers.<3 It's really easy to think that my ideas are too wild for other people to connect with. I wouldn't share my writing anywhere unless I had to for school or a friend I knew was going through something I felt I related to. It's a big step for me to share my writing online! The deadline also motivated me to make it awesome in just a few days, where as I have poems I've worked on for years that never feel finished or good enough. Very excited to share more in the future and feel a little more confident in sharing my work. Again, thank you so much for your words, it helps me a lot. I hope you're doing well^_^

I think a lot of those feelings of comparison and low self-esteem come from people just like us feeling so insecure about themselves that they try to perfect their skin, bodies, words, life ect. And it just got oversaturated in content to the point where it became “normal” to fake it online and in turn make others feel bad about themselves. I even find myself retyping messages to good friends, and sometimes I just need to treat it like as if we were in person instead. It helps me to think that if I was with someone in person, I couldn’t Ctrl alt delete sentences to word them more sophisticatedly. I couldn’t blur my skin or have time to think of the right thing to say. When you’re with someone irl, you just have fun and be in the moment. I’ve been trying to treat talking to my friends online like that, and it feels like a good way to stay present while still on my phone. I also think social media influencers need to be more real and less fake, and that would help all of us. If I were an influencer, which I have considered, I would show my skin unfiltered and show even the lows so that other people can see there is no perfect life. We all move at our own pace and have our own journeys. Not a single one of us is living the same exact life or even has the same exact mind! It’s a beautiful thing. <3 I'm kinda just ranting now but I hope some of what I said resonates or helps you. I'm just babbling as if we were two people meeting in person, trying to remember not everything has to be "perfect". (: These are ways in which I believe we can change the world and make the internet a brighter place. I hope you're having a wonderful month^_^

Agreed! I think people are just starting to take the impact of social media seriously, realizing that we all need a time to unplug and recharge. People often don’t want to be alone with their thoughts, but sometimes that’s what we need to learn about who we are, where we’re from, and where we want to go. But at the same time, makeup artists on Instagram, fashion on Pinterest, and people that I can only talk to through the internet (or by letter) are all great, inspiring things! We just got to keep ourselves in check and remember that too much of a good thing can still be too much and turn bad. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m so glad you enjoyed my poem. <3

Hi, Lauren! Thank you so much! Your words mean a lot to me, I really appreciate it. I don’t know what else to say; for once, I’m wordless. <3

I am so glad you liked it! I poured my heart and soul into this poem! I was really nervous about sharing it because you rarely hear about social media, and the internet in general, from this perspective. I’m so happy you were able to take something away from it and carry it with you. I will keep soaring as best I can, and thank you again. It means the world to me.<3