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Sonia D 1926So it’s come to this: I’m playing with paper dolls. In Friday’s post, I’ll tell you how I came by this doll, which is clothed by famous French designers from the 1900s to the 1950s, but first, an explanation for my random blogging this month.

I think this is my longest running stretch without a post. I’ve been too busy to share anything with anyone. You know the feeling, don’t you? Trips, weddings, work, delightful visits from out of town guests—life’s been full and wonderful. I didn’t have the slightest impulse to share it here or anywhere else. I just wanted to live it to the max.

Flying back from one trip this month, I sat next to a 23-year-old woman who had just opened her first Facebook account. Here was this beautiful young woman, telling me that she had no natural affinity for Facebook, and only opened an account because of a small business venture. This happened during a week I felt slightly guilty (but strangely happy) for failing to log in to all my personal social media channels.

Freedom, sweet freedom
Her words reminded me of a freedom that was once mine. Could I have it again if only I gave up the fear that I (and everything I write) might cease to exist without enough “friends” and “likes”—or worse yet, be thought of as an “out of touch” old fogie? At 23, my seatmate didn’t seem much bothered by such thoughts. She values the free time she has to read, take photographs, play with her dog and be with family. Sweet, huh?

I remember walking down the hall from my dorm room to the elevator my freshman year of college. Someone would ask, “Where are you going?” Back then, that question seemed nosey. I would answer with something ambiguous like, “I haven’t decided yet.”

All my life, I’ve been fleeing bondage, but with social media and blogging, I volunteer for it. Social media often makes me feel like a hostage, held against my will. It’s part of my profession, but by the end of a workday, I want no more of it, unless it’s to check in with friends. Caught in my own shameful double standard, I’m glad that they aren’t as stingy as I am about sharing their lives.

Here’s the social media bargain I’ve struck.
I like my independence and privacy too much to chronicle my every move. When I share something with you, I will always strive to make it something that has value and either starts a conversation or adds to it. Additionally, my commitment to myself is that sharing never becomes a chore or a way of measuring my self worth. Deal?

Stay tuned for Friday’s post, when I’ll extend a fun invitation to Indianapolis readers, fashion lovers and friends. That’s when I’ll tell you all about my paper dolls and a great event sponsored by the Fashion Arts Society at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

How do you keep social media in its right balance for your life? What do you think the notoriously private Jackie Kennedy would do about social media?

Life is short. Wear the good stuff.

*The abstract print coat pictured above was designed in 1926 by Sonia Delaunay, the avante-garde French artist and fashion designer.