I hate saying good bye. I’ve never been good at it. When I was a child, I would rather cry than utter a good bye. I can say, “see ya” or “you too,” but never “good bye.”
Unfortunately it’s time for me to close the shutters on Salt City Girl. You’ll notice the archives are gone, the pages are deleted and the site is bare.
Leaving Salt City Girl has been a difficult decision, and one that I have not made lightly. I wish I could say it’s because I’m moving on with my life to bigger and better things.
But that’s not true.
The truth is I no longer feel safe. I’m scared to leave behind information that will mean an unwanted presence in my life. I’ve always been careful about the information I share, particularly in regards to others. However it has become apparent over the past few weeks that my efforts to keep myself sane and safe from unwanted attention have fallen short.
I am leaving the internet in it’s entirety.
No Facebook, no Twitter, no Tumblr, no online communities for me.
Some people may believe I am overreacting, others may think I was stupid to ever use my real name online. But what’s done is done.
I do not believe I am overacting. No, I am not currently in physical danger, nor do I plan to be at anytime in the future. I am, however, unsafe on the interconnected webtubes, and afraid that means I could be in real danger. It is highly unlikely anything more will ever come of this terrifying experience. Nonetheless as a preemptive measure I have chosen to take the drastic action of ending my online life. A virtual suicide if you will, to keep my sanity in tact on the other side.
As for using my real name, I have never liked the idea of writing anonymously, I have always tried to be honest, upfront and open in all my interactions. In the end this meant, I used my real name to post my real thoughts, ideas and stories in a public forum. In the end, the consequence for me has not been positive. I made many mistakes along the way, looking back many of those missteps could have been prevented, but I didn’t know or understand what I was doing. I hope in the future I am better prepared for the consequences.
As for my faithful readers, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the vagueness and the suddenness with which I am leaving you. I’m sorry for leaving this small space I have occupied for four years; I lived at Salt City Girl longer than any city in my adult life. Strange isn’t it? That the people and place I could never physically experience meant so much to me for so long.
Thank you. To all the people who have read, commented and followed over the years as I’ve gone from recipes to short stories to reviews to critiques to commentary from around the world, all of you have helped. Thank you for your support. You mean so much to me.
Perhaps someday I’ll be back–with a different name, different stories and a different perspective on all of this. This thing we call life, and the funny ways it connects us to people near and far.
Good bye.