Will B. Revealing

I have been sharing a lot about my history lately. I have not been sharing these personal memories and history to garner sympathy or to draw attention to myself.  I just wanted people to know that whatever you’re going through, others are or have been going through what you’ve been going through.

When going through personal experiences, traumatic events, low points in life, and loss of loved ones, you may feel alone and that no one understands what you’re going through. If you take that simple step to reach out to those around you, you will find a wealth of support and comfort.

When I first started writing this column, I wanted to use a pseudonym because I knew, eventually, I would share some personal memories and history that I would not be certain about the way people in the community would respond to me after learning about my personal history.  I discovered quickly that I should have chosen my pseudonym more carefully as I laugh to myself. I still feel somewhat awkward when writing about my personal experiences, but I have found that there is a big plus to people knowing who is writing these articles. People I am starting to grow close to in our community have been approaching me and either offering support or telling me about how they can relate and are happy to read that there is someone else out there who knows what they are going through. It makes me feel good.

I know my pseudonym is corny, but for now, I will continue to use it. I feel like Olney is almost like one big extended family that pulls together in tough times to help one another. Although some may poke fun good-naturedly at you from time to time, gossip every once in a while, and have an occasional fight over this or that, we are still family. After thinking about this, I’m convinced it sounds just like a big ole family.

So for now, although I consider Olney as a big family, I still want to keep my anonymity for those pesky city folks just passing through our great little town who may happen to pick up our hometown paper.

This is Will B. saying see y’all at the next barbecue.