Oversharing

As many of you may well have noticed, I like to share. Pictures, stories, anecdotes, information, links, opinions. All of them, all out there. I am pretty much an open book, and most days I'm fine with that. But, yeah, some days I do feel like a bit of a circus freak.

See, I was sorta just born this way: an oversharer. I look at those people who are dark and mysterious and I literally ask myself how they do it. Some of them, I note in wonderment, don't even *try* to be that way - they aren't even calculating being cryptic. THEY JUST ARE. I know. Total madness, from over here in Shareytown, where everybody knows your name.

People seem to like me this way, for the most part - or at least that's what they tell me. To the Italians, I am very "American," sharing every last detail of my life over our first cup of caffe' (and urging them to do the same). They use words to describe me like solare (sunny) and simpatica (nice). 

To the Americans, I am Good Ol' Jodi. Bridging the gap in my eclectic world of friends with a smile, a joke and some sort of narrative.

These are pretty great ways to be viewed in the world. I realize that, and I do cherish it. I am shy in many things but, over the years, I've learned that sharing myself and my thoughts is not something I mind doing anymore. It helps me connect with people; it gives them a sense of comfort, I think, knowing I am putting myself out there. They in turn open up to me more easily and fully and, poof, a friendship is formed. Empathy is achieved.

The bad side is obvious. The more I talk about me, the more I make myself open to criticism, or just plain opinions. Which I know is the natural part of discourse. It would be highly arrogant of me to think I could just put myself out there and people would simply tell me how wonderful my thoughts are. But, sometimes, the criticism is unexpected and painful, or keeps me up at night because it reveals a side of a situation I had thoroughly missed. Or, worse, it makes me see an aspect of myself I had heretofore completely overlooked. One that, perhaps, was best left secret, overturned under a large boulder-sized rock, as long as we both shall have lived.

Truth is, though, I don't think I am going to change anytime soon. I like connecting with people (this blog post being, ironically, Exhibit A). As much as I spent most of my high school years just wishing I were one of those enigmatic girls who seemed to flow through the hallways naturally raising eyebrows. I am who I am, in all my blabbering glory.

p.s. In doing some research for this post, I discovered that Webster's New World Dictionary announced 'overshare' as 2008's Word of the Year! Validation!