Devious Journal Entry

I would like to start out by apologising to Burdge. The reason for my apology is due to the fact that she only just worked up the courage to come back to DA. I'm pretty sure that she left because of everyone commenting and bombarding her with comments and annoying personal messages that she doesn't need to see. I know that she probably appreciates the things that people say in the comments but she just can't keep up due to the overflowing comments that fill her page everyday. The reason that I, personally, am apologising is because I am one of those people. I sent her a birthday note and I feel terrible about it. She must appreciate the thought that we care but she doesn't know any of us... when we wish her happy birthday, it must seem like random strangers in the street coming up to you and telling you happy birthday. I can imagine that it feels almost scary to have people, you don't know, know your birthday.

I understand why she left DA. She felt overwhelmed. She joined DA to post art because it was fun but as soon as she became popular, it felt like a job and it's now hard work just to post art once in a while. She must feel that it's not fun anymore if people only comment because they want to be noticed or if they feel like they are being nice, but really it must just feel like a pain in the ass to see people saying that they love her but she can't say it back to everyone who says it because the word will become worthless. I was looking through the comments that people posted on her page and I only saw her reply to one person. This is an obvious sign that she just can't deal with all the annoying and repetitive comments that bombard her page and her inbox every few seconds.

Imagine that you were in her position. Of course you would feel loved and appreciated but after hearing it so many times, you would just click the 'x' next to post, in her inbox, to get rid of it because it took her away from stuff she actually likes and wants to see. Her happiness doesn't deserve to be punctured by the repetitive reminder that everything she posts is being watched. Maybe, she will quit her DeviantArt account altogether and just not come back. I could imagine the pain that I would have pressing the 'deactivate account' button on my page when she knows that she would be leaving so many people behind but she would know that it was necessary if she wanted to have a free and enjoyable time when going online. No one wants to see her leave but the truth is that she needs freedom. I'm not saying that we should all pretend she's not there and just not show any recognition and appreciation when she posts her work but I'm saying that we need to give her space. She may disagree with what I have to say but I believe that everyone needs to listen to what I say. No, I have never experienced 'fame' on any social media but I can empathise with what she is feeling when she checks her messages only to find an overflow of messages that she just doesn't need.

If Burdge is reading this, ever, I hope she knows that I understand. That I know that it's hard for her and that if I stop favouriting her work or if I unlike her work then I will have a reason for doing so.