In blogging, it seems preferred that you share personal details about your life with the readers. I have enjoyed reading open and honest posts from bloggers about their families, financial status, and personal struggles. Blogs are much more personal when you can see a photograph of the author and get a glimpse into their life. In my current situation, however, the best I can do is try to share as much as possible, without being identifiable.
For now, I cannot risk my employer discovering my true career plans. Is this deceptive? It would be a lie to say that there have been no guilty thoughts regarding the less-than-full disclosure. But here’s the thing: although I feel a sense of loyalty to my company, management’s actions over the past year have reinforced the truth that above all, it is a business. While they have given me opportunities and flexibility, I have no doubt that if my contributions are deemed insufficient, I will be let go. A number of skilled and personally-admired colleagues recently met this fate.
In my specific career, there is an expectation that we thrive on the possibility of moving up the “ladder of success.” The increased status alone is supposed to motivate us to put in long hours, participate in “extracurricular activities,” and become more involved with the company. However, my focus is not on a long-term career. It is on keeping my good income, while earning money from side hustles, so I can pay down debt and invest to support early semi-retirement. All while spending quality time with my family. The dichotomy between these goals is clear to see. If they knew, I could lose my job for “not being on the right path.”
At this point, I cannot share my name or identify my specific occupation. There is a deadline to reach our goals (January 1, 2022) and all be revealed by that date, for better or worse. Inevitably, some clues will sneak through in my posts. And I may decide to share select personal details over time, especially if we are doing well in progressing toward our goals. Until then I remain,
Very Truly Yours,
Harmony
I hear you! Don’t worry about that, lots of bloggers are anonymous or post under a pen name. I still don’t post under my full name and I’ve been blogging for two years. However, I share more on my blog in terms of my thoughts than I do with most of my friends and family. You can still be honest and true to yourself when blogging, even if you don’t use your real name. 🙂
I’m really enjoying the opportunity just to write about whatever I want (even messed up fudge). There’s a lot more to come!
A secret identity is also kind of cool!
I’m torn about whether I want a secret identity or not. My current blog contains my business name that can be traced to Facebook which can be traced to my name, so I think if I wanted to be anonymous, I’d need to create another blog. If the desire to “spill” becomes too big, I may just create a second blog. 🙂