In my family, there are three of us – MyChild, MyHusband, and myself.
Most of the time we come to a consensus, but, as there is an odd number, there are times when the third gives in to the opinion or wishes of the two.
When this happens for dinner, the third is often placated by there being something they like, even if the location or menu wasn’t their first choice.
It’s when the third opinion is completely opposite the two that things get quiet.
Am I wrong?
Am I the only one that like that?
Am I the imagining how I feel about this?
Questioning you own feelings and emotions can be terrifying.
Is something wrong with me?
This is how it is when I want to write a negative review.
SO many questions of my own opinion.
But, everyone else LOVES this writer/movie/place. Why don’t I?
We watched Onward a few weeks ago. MyChild and MyHusband loved it. I thought it was very cute, but all I kept thinking was, “Okay, Disney. Got it. You made all this money on the Frozen franchise and the power of sisters, now we need the power of brothers.”
*insert eye roll*
Call me cynical or whatever – I just didn’t love this movie that soooo many people have raved about.
Was I just cranky? Just a bitch?
I come across this problem with book reviews, too.
In one book I recently read, I wanted to write a negative review. The basis for this was the author’s tendency to go on and on about a subject. Get to the fricken’ point! To say my time is valuable is one thing, but often the point is that my attention span is short. I know you have a word count to reach, but get on with it!
But, no, I didn’t publish the review in that manner.
For another example, while reading a different book, the author reminded me of people I’ve known throughout my life. You probably know them, too. The type who thinks they are hilarious, or this particular joke is hilarious, and tries WAY TOO HARD to make it land or to make you agree that they are funny.
I’m over here with the pained smile and mediocre chuckle – “yes, you are so funny. Ha. Ha.”
But, was it just me?
Was I in a bad mood when I was reading that? Was I projecting my own issues onto this poor book just fighting for a chance?
Don’t get me wrong, if I absolutely do not like a book, I’ll say as much, but I also try to understand how I am feeling when I want to react that way.
A current mantra has been:
The world needs all of our voices, but sometimes we should stop and think before publishing or stating a harsh review. We need to consider our own biases, our own background, our own moods.
I listened to a podcast recently and found one host condescending and a bit rude; the other felt the need to over-explain everything. This is a highly rated podcast, but it was clear the humor and content was not for me. There wasn’t a need for me to comment about this, I just turned it off and let it go.
Parting thought on when to speak your mind:
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Categories: This and That
I am Sandy Kay 