I've been a "Pinner" for five months, meaning I've been actively involved on Pinterst.com. Pinterest is an online bulletin board site that "lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests." Basically, if you find something online that you like you can save it to a bulletin board and other people will be able to see it, too.
I have found so many great ideas from Pinterst - recipes, crafts, knitting patterns, exercises, etc. You really should check it out if you haven't. It's a wonderful way to gather and share ideas, however, it can get slightly overwhelming at times. Some of the pictures posted on this site, like craft ideas or home decorating ideas, look like they came straight out of a magazine, but they're listed as a DIY project. You know, the Southern Living or Martha Stuart type ideas that look so good and seem so easy, but let's face it, usually turn out looking nothing close to the picture and take much longer than stated when you try the DIY instructions (that's Do It Yourself in crafty land).
Well, a few days ago on Facebook I saw a link to a blog posting that was about Pinterest. I was intrigued by the title and the short synopsis because it sounded like it was bashing Pinterest. And it kind of was, in a way. The blog post talked about how Pinterest can often times make mothers (it was a "mommy" blog) feel like complete failures. The blog compared pictures seen on Pinterest to pictures see in real life. For example, a picture on Pinterest might show a beautifully set Valentine's-themed table with red and white napkins, plates, glasses, heart-shaped food, etc. But, if the picture were taken in real life it would most likely show a table with paper plates, paper cups, food still in the pot it was made in instead of in pretty serving dishes, junk mail on the table, etc. Basically, a very pretty and clean scene versus a very ugly and messy scene.
Please, don't get me wrong. I get the point of that blog post. Some of the pins can make one feel overwhelmed and slightly failureish, but what struck me funny about it was that as I continued reading and looking on this blog, I found that this woman has a book, THAT SHE WROTE, coming out sometime this spring, and she also has a small business.
Do you see my point? If not, I hope I can explain it in a halfway intelligent way. She's bashing all these people on Pinterest who post pictures of seemingly perfect meals, kids, organization, rooms, etc., saying that that's not real life. But isn't her life kind of the same, in a round about way? She might think the Valentine's-themed dinner is a bit perfect and unrealistic, but I think that someone who does all that she does and writes a book is a bit perfect and unrealistic.
It just made me laugh and seemed like complete irony to me. Or perhaps irony isn't the right word for this scenario. Irony is hard to define and I think used incorrectly most of the time. But, my point is this woman is dogging on everyone else for being "perfect" saying that's not real life, yet I'm sure there are lots of women that are reading her blog and already have her book preordered that are feeling overwhelmed and failureish when comparing themselves to her.
Like my title said, maybe it's irony. Maybe it's just me on a soapbox. Maybe it's just me doing the same thing I'm bashing on this woman about...complaining about others when I'm kind of doing the same thing, in a round about way, myself.
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