Still alive

Hello dear readers,

I have had a tough time. I have been busy writing my bachelor’s thesis for the last 4 months, which I finished in February and is being reviewed right now.
I don’t know why, but I could not blog for all this time. I had some ideas, created a few drafts, but I was not able to just write down my thoughts and post them here. I started this blog with the intention to write more, to create some value for myself and others, but I failed to do so.
I am a little discouraged by all of this. Recently, I was working on an article about the refugee crisis in Europe, since it is a big topic right now and everyone is getting crazy about it. I gathered some facts, researched the actual numbers and added my personal opinions and feelings about this topic.

Right when I was finished and ready to publish, I was asked “Do you really want to express your opinion on the Internet, where everyone could read it? It could upset some people”.
And then it struck me…I did not want that. Not this topic, not like this.

I am no journalist, no public person, but I have a strong opinion on things. When I start hearing about stuff, I really start to dig into the sources and analyze who wrote it and why. And then, if I am not happy, I start to search for better sources, reliable data, official facts, not opinions.
Unfortunately, everyone has an opinion on the Internet. I wanted to express my opinion, but cover it with actual facts, like every reasonable person on the Internet should do it.

But I am too scared to publish. Not because it is bad, but because my opinion on racist and xenophobic people is strong, and might offend people. Of course, what do I care if I offend people, you might ask. You, a random stranger from the Internet, might just leave and carry on with your life. It’s not like people really care about yet another opinion on refugees.

What’s worse: It might depict me as a hateful person, a racist on my own, a supporter of terrorists and criminals. And in part it is true: I don’t like different opinions without proper reasoning. I hate when ignorant people only replicate the views of others, instead of scrutinizing statements made by politicians, journalists, friends and family. I don’t like people who spread hate and discriminate people based on different look, culture and belief.

So, the draft of the post “(My) thoughts on the refugee crisis in Europe” starts off with facts and debunking myths, but slowly escalates into a rant about ignorant and intolerant people. And this is not what this blog is going to be!

I am still figuring everything out. In Italy, when you see people after a long time, you ask them “Are you still alive?”. I know I am, and I will write more articles in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!