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Are You Listening???

by Charlie ~

Rated: GC · Book · Emotional · #2181458

A journey of self-improvement - or not.

Sup? I'm Char.
You may know me from timeless classics such as

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and

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I blog for things like

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FORUM

30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS

(13+)
WDC's Longest Running Blog Competition - Hiatus
#1786069 by FivetricksterTreats

FORUM

JAFBG

(XGC)
Because real life isn't always roses and sunshine...
#2094931 by Elisa, Stik-or-Treat

[Embed For Use By Upgraded+]
Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya
Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya
They say jump and ya say "how high?"
Ya braindead, ya got a fuckin' bullet in ya head

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

👀intu the Darkness

Jul 22, 2023 at 8:05am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Hey Char, It's been a while since I've touched base with you. I'm so sorry for your loss. The last thing people should say is everyone loses their grandparents eventually, or it will get better with time. It's the last thing you want to hear when you're hurting. Death sucks, long-lasting illness sucks! Having to decide to let the person go to keep them from suffering REALLY SUCKS! I think the only ones who can understand truly just how much are those who have had to make that decision. My heart breaks for you.

I'm not religious, but I do have a strong faith in God. I call myself spiritual because I don't agree with all the rules and regulations of religion. I do know I will see my family and friends again, and this is a great comfort. I can only imagine how much more painful the death of loved ones is without this belief. But you're right, it can't be faked. But it is a beautiful thing.

Having mental health issues during times like this makes it even harder to go through. I know what you mean about seeing things that aren't there. I'd walk into a room, and say, "Where's Star?" and she would be sitting right in front of me. When I looked, I swear I saw an empty chair. The mind is crazy. It gives new meaning to a mind of its own

Some time has passed since you wrote this. I don't know when you'll see this but know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I'm sending good energy your way. I hope you're doing better. I look forward to hearing from you.

Aiva Raine

Mar 28, 2023 at 9:40pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'm sorry for your loss. I know they are shitty sounding words that don't even attempt to fill or fix, but they're meant in sincerity.

Having lost several people the best advice I was ever given was when life gets too hard- take it at your own pace. If a day is too much- cope with an hour at a time. If that's too much, take it ten minutes at a time. If that's too much- then you deal with one minute at a time. Work through life and grief at your pace. And don't ever feel guilty because you feel sad. And if you can- find one positive in each chunk of time- even if it's something as little as the beauty of sunlight on a leaf or the softness of your shirt. And ask for help if you need it.

Elle

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:29pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Aw, Charlie, I'm so sorry. It's a shit thing to go through whether it's sudden or not. And just because everyone goes through it, doesn't make it easier. It also doesn't take into account that you were closer to them than your parents. Nobody says 'Oh, everyone loses their parents eventually' do they? Surely not. And that's what's happened here really. I'm actually glad you've got an appointment with a professional tomorrow, because they might be able to help you with getting through that initial devastation.

When my dad lost his mother, he really struggled with his own lack of religion. As you say, there is some comfort in believing they've gone to a better place, been reunited with loved ones, that you'll see them again, and so on. For most of my life, Dad would say 'Religion is a crutch for the weak', but I definitely saw him struggle with the finality of it when he lost his mother, the person he was probably closest to.

My thoughts are with you.

1 Like

~Minja~

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:21pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Crazy stuff, grief. If you want to talk about it, message me always.

1 Like

QPdoll

Mar 7, 2023 at 6:21am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I understand what you mean about wanting to tell your grandmother something. I did the same thing after my grandmother passed. I was at home and the first thing I thought was to call grandma. I picked up the phone and realized that she wouldn't answer. It's so tough losing your grandparents, especially as close as you were. I don't have any magic words, but take care of yourself. It's what they would want.

1 Like

Waltz in the Lonesome October

Mar 6, 2023 at 10:31pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Take care of yourself during this difficult time.

1 Like

Anni Pumpkin

Mar 6, 2023 at 9:06pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I know it doesn't help any, but I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine much worse than losing a parent or parental figure. They represent stability and safety, you grew up with them, and you've relied on them for most, if not all, of your life. You're right, the initial devastation will fade and things won't feel so fresh. But, as you know, grief never really goes away. It just becomes a permanent part of you.

It's horrible that you only got a couple days worth of bereavement! That's not even long enough for the shock to wear off enough to START grieving. I hope you have the support of someone else in your life to help you through this dark time. Take it easy on yourself in the mean time, that's all you really can do. Taking care of your physical self, eating and sleeping, is critical. Sleep deprivation and hunger will make things feel a million times worse than they actually are (which, for the record, is already pretty bad).

1 Like

Cinn

Feb 20, 2023 at 9:34pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I actually pretty much love this one. Nice, man...

Cinn

Feb 19, 2023 at 11:07am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'd say that more freedom for participants would attract more people. One obvious example that I've never understood is fiction vs poetry. If it's an activity, not a contest, why not allow people to explore whatever the theme of your activity is with whatever type of writing that want to do?

I've actually written for countless contests/activities over the years but never entered... because they inspired me, but I don't fit within the guidelines. Max rating too low, items required (book entries only over here), no poetry accepted, etc.

I know well why people restrict writers' freedom, but they're also restricting the number of participants they'll get. I still just take the inspiration where I can get it.

Elisa, Stik-or-Treat

Feb 19, 2023 at 10:26am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I've had decent participation with Journalistic Intentions (even though I know my prompts are sometimes considered "difficult"). I do think that there's been a bit of a shift in regards to contests and activities, where people have been more open to admitting they find some setups too restricting or that they feel intimidated by contests. I would love to be in discussions to address those issues, but so far I haven't been invited.

September 4, 2019 at 12:01am

#965518

Statistically speaking...

Artist: The Beatles
Song: Happiness is a Warm Gun
[Embed For Use By Upgraded+]

Prompt via "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Did you know that WDC keeps track of everyone who views your items? To have a look at your blog’s statistics, open your blog, click the gear icon in the top right, and then click “Statistics.” You can do this for your blog or any other item in your portfolio!

In your blog entry today, share anything interesting you found while exploring your blog’s statistics. What is the profile of your average reader? Do you consider your readership when composing a blog entry? Everyone has an “ideal reader,” as Stephen King says. Who is your ideal reader?

I'm really loving the birthday week prompts. Blog stats? I love this kind of data.

So, these stats are from the last 30 days. I realized that after I tried to look at the stats from one of my old blogs.

This blog is relatively new because I've only used it since the end of January. Anyway, here are some notable stats since August 3rd:

36 unique WDC members have visited
That sounds about right to me.

98 total WDC views
This must be views of your base blog, not entry views. My average entry gets around 25 views on the low end and around 100 on the high end. I'd say average is around 40-50.

Average unique member fits the profile of a Married Female, age 40-49, with Some College education. Their income level is Less than $20,000.
Very interesting. Let's break that down a little more...

77.8% female; 8% male
This is interesting because I think WDC tends to lean female to begin with, right? I wonder what percentage of the site is female vs. male? Do we have those stats?

36.1% are 40-49 years old; 22.2% are 25-39 years old; 16.7% are 50-59 years old
Interesting stats there. I don't know the average age of people on the site, so I'll be interested in seeing what other people's stats are on that (if they post them).

44.4% are married; 30.6% are single
The rest are involved/widowed/divorced, etc. This is actually a more even split than I though it would be. For some reason I figured a higher majority would be married, but then I started thinking about it and I don't really know that many people's relationship statuses unless they talk about it in their blog a lot.

36.1% have some college; 33.3% have a college degree
And then grad school, some grad school, and high school. Interesting to see that a lot of people have at least some level of higher education. I know right now when people are looking at the stats on their blog, I'm one of the "some college" people. Looking forward to moving into the "college degree" category in December!

31.6% make less than $20,000; 15.8% make $100,000-149,999
Can we take a minute to recognize the disparity there? I mean WOW. This is the one stat that actual surprised me. That the most common reader makes less than $20K a year and then the next highest common reader makes 6 figures.

That's just so interesting to me.

38.9% describe themselves as Avid Writers; 27.8% describe themselves as Casual Writers
I'm actually not even sure which category I put for myself, to be honest. I think I described myself as a casual writer. If not, I should go in and change that because I am far from an avid writer at this point.

My ideal reader is...

someone who can laugh about me saying that I'm having nocturnal panic attacks because there's a ghost jerking off on my chest every night.

More seriously, this is a personal blog. I'm not getting paid for it. This isn't something specific like a baking blog where I need to think about what kind of recipes my readers might like, so, I don't. It doesn't cross my mind to think about what the reader might want me to say.

That's a good thing. It means that my thoughts here are 100% genuine through all the ups and downs I have in life. From my successes to my setbacks, the reader can be a part of my life if they choose to.

That being said, I do certain things to make it easier for my audience to digest my blog. For example:

Bullet point lists, like this one and the one above when I'm making multiple points. I want reading my blog to be a breeze, not a wall of text that's difficult to get through.

Changing the font to emphasize certain ideas or thoughts.

Plenty of spacing so it's easier on the eyes. Linespace is always 1.5 and paragraph breaks are in full use.

My content is not written for you, but the formatting certainly is. And my ideal reader? Anyone who can accept me for who I am is my ideal reader.

I need a fix because I'm going down

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