The Sweet Escape

Occasionally I’m going to blog about things unrelated to having ADHD. This is one of those times.

Today I’m going to discuss the topic of escapism. We all do it, whether we realize it or not. Escapism can be achieved through movies, our favorite T.V. series, books, drugs, alcohol and most recently—social media.

I will admit to escaping using multiple sources. I definitely love a good book, wine, my shows and yes—social media.

My favorite social media platform to use to escape is Twitter. What is so intriguing to me about Twitter, is that out of all 6k followers and following, I only know one person I follow and who follows me in real life—my sister. Everyone else I have exclusively met online.

Somehow on Twitter, I have not only made one-on-one connections, I have formed virtual groups of friends. Similar to how I established friendships in high school. I love my little group of tweeps. Even though our friendship is virtual, It’s pretty solid.

I will admit in order to become part of a group I had to spend lots of time on social media. I’m not completely proud of this, but it’s the truth. I have no one to blame but myself for the countless hours I spent on Twitter neglecting everything else in my real life. I have cut back now, but I did get caught up in the drama. I’m not ashamed, it happens to the best of us. Twitter wouldn’t exist if people didn’t get sucked into the madness—right?

The question is—why did I feel the need to escape? I’ll tell you why and it’s a simple. It’s because life is hard. I work, I have kids, several groups of friends, a dog, cat and I’m married. In real life I’m a mom, a teacher, a wife, a caretaker. Very rarely I’m just—Dana.

On Twitter I’m Dana. I’m a woman writer who loves animals, 90s music, inspirational quotes and fun conversations. This is my Twitter persona. It’s the person I want the virtual world to know. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s nice to have control over what I want people to know about me. I can tell not show—unlike my writing and real life. I basically created a little world I can escape to where people like me, or what I let them know about me. It’s fun and much different than my actual life.

However, I’m a married woman who made a commitment to my family. Yes, things in real life become routine and mundane. Sometimes it even can feel like a prison, but these are “feelings” nothing more and I have a choice. I can keep escaping or I can work on my real life issues. I choose my family.

The truth is, nothing real will stay new and exciting forever. Unlike social medial where you can just tell people how wonderful you are, real life requires actions. It’s much harder. I can see the appeal of wanting the escape to be your everything. It’s easier and way less responsibility, but it’s not real.

The commitment I made is real. Real things are never easy. They take time and constant work. Also, once you get married and have kids it’s not JUST about you anymore. You’re not allowed to act on every feeling you have. There are people—children—who can be affected by your actions.

If I ever felt that I needed to completely change something in my life, I would definitely be an adult, analyze the situation and make decisions accordingly, not impulsively.

For now I’ve found the perfect balance between my sweet escape and my real life. My tweeps are my buddies. I love them all. They remind me that Dana still exists, she’s cool and she’s liked. However, my actual life is most important. My kids come first—always. My husband and I have our issues, but here we are, sixteen years later and still together. That means something, doesn’t it?

It’s all about balance folks. Learn to balance your life and you will find peace and happiness.

The key to life is finding happiness within yourself and not depending on anyone or anything else—hmmm, sounds like my next blog 😉