The web is such a strangely amazing creation to me. I am online a *lot* to the dismay of my mother, who must endure the fact that she can't use her phone. In some ways it doesn't seem real. Sometimes it's so difficult to remember that websites are designed and written by real people, that every time I go into a chat room the typing I see is coming from another person sitting at the keyboard just like I am. I often find myself calling offline life "real life." As if life isn't real when I get online. A lot of people would argue that this *isn't* real life. That's why it's called virtual reality. I beg to differ. I am more myself online than I am anywhere else. The internet allows me to express my thoughts in my own way with my own words. Here there is no one to tell me to write it over or that what I say isn't good enough to be heard.

My "real life" has become better because of the internet and the friends I've made here. I find myself gaining more confidence and reacting to situations and words without fear of what others will think. The web gives a certain anonymity. I can tell people as much as I want about me. I could even make stuff up if I wanted to. Don't worry, all of my lies are 100% true. Seriously, I think that lying defeats the whole purpose of the web.

The web to me is an outlet for people to express their thoughts and feelings and dreams and hopes. It allows people to show to the world the person they want to be seen, who they truly are. There are so many personas that we create for ourselves, at work, at home, at social gatherings. It's our nature, we can't help it. My question is this: Why do we create a persona for the one place where we get hurt the least?

Get off your lazy butts, get out there, and go be yourselves!! I hope your day is filled with true lies and real people.