Comments on: a hundred thousand pieces

By: ellen

ellen — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:37:02 +0000

I love this post. I’ve struggled with being completely honest about certain parts of myself, although not really the parts that you would even guess are in the oh-so-honest and out there me. We all have those things. Things I was embarrassed when my best friend at Stanford found out second-hand. I think there’s something about sexual assault that does this to women, that makes us feel like there’s something wrong with us! And even as I write that I still feel like there’s something wrong with me, like I can’t enjoy sex in certain ways and it’s my fault. And I apologize for it… We’re never done growing…

By: alphafemme

alphafemme — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:38:37 +0000

well thanks!! glad you found me :)

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:27:39 +0000

Trying to employ all available procrastination tactics, I ran across your blog and…I just spent the last two hours reading previous post after previous post…There is something about your writing that is *so* refreshingly honest. Thank you. (and thank you for the much needed deadline interruption.)

By: Uncommon Priors » Blake and others on coming on too strongly.

Uncommon Priors » Blake and others on coming on too strongly. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:52:19 +0000

[...] Relatedly, see Alphafemme and I on the universality of brokenness and hiding it. [...]

By: Paul Gowder

Paul Gowder — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:27:35 +0000

Yeah. I really think it’s just a bad cycle. Because we’re not honest with one another, anyone who is honest with anyone else is looked at askance, and so nobody is honest…

By: alphafemme

alphafemme — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:47:45 +0000

thanks for the internet-hug :)

you’re right — we’re all broken. that’s really the truth. and it helps me to remember that when I’m all “I need to be perfect!”

I wish we weren’t all so good at hiding it from each other though. why can’t we all just be honest and genuine with each other? it would cut out so much of the hurt. (I guess it would be a good start for ME to live that way! I’m trying…)

By: Paul Gowder

Paul Gowder — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:49:26 +0000

Oh Alphafemme. I do wish I could give you a hug over this internet.

The thing about this species… we’re all broken, in different ways. Many of the breakings are much less horrible than what happened to you, but brokenness is kind of the human condition. And we’re all trying to hide the brokenness from one another with more or less success.