When I printed out my June prompts and saw this one, I was like, “Oh man, do I even have an enemy? What in the world will I write about for this one?”
I suppose you have to figure out how you define an enemy. I wasn’t sure, so I did what any sensible person does, and I googled it.
Dictionary.com says an enemy is, “a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.”
I just don’t think there are a bunch of people in this world that I’m hostile to, or are hostile to me.
The closest thing I could think of is this: there are some people who have been reading my main blog, The Frugal Girl, for a long time, and the only time they leave a comment is:
a) when I run a giveaway
and
b) when they want to correct me or criticize/disagree with something I’ve written or call me names
So, I’ll try writing a little note to them.
Dear unhappy blog readers,
I don’t know why you keep reading my blog. From my end, it seems like you don’t like me, or at least, you don’t like what I write.
But since you keep reading, you must be getting some kind of enjoyment out of my posts. So, in that sense, I’m glad you are still reading.
I do wonder, though, if you might not be happier reading a blog you agree with more! There are so many blogs on the internet, and life is too short to read a blog you seriously dislike.
And if you are on a mission to improve the world by correcting and changing a blogger’s mind, I have a suggestion: mix in some encouraging comments too.
I am much, much more prone to take critique seriously when it comes from someone who does more than just critiquing, and I bet that’s true for most bloggers.
One last thing: it is possible to read something on the internet, disagree with it, and say nothing. Consider whether you are really going to accomplish something by speaking up, and save the speaking up for things that really matter. Every hill is not worth dying on.
Ok, one more thing. Maybe it’s just my eternal optimism speaking, but I think if we met in real life, we could probably be friends and not enemies. <3
-Kristen
P.S. If you are reading this post and thinking, “Oh no! Is Kristen talking about me? I did disagree with her once.”, you can rest assured that I’m not talking about you. People who hate-read blogs and who do name-calling are totally different than you. 🙂
Dear rabbits: Stay out of my garden, or you’ll be sorry. If the man with the gun doesn’t get you, then the boy with the snares or the dogs with the teeth will. Seek your leafy greens elsewhere. Sincerely, The Garden Lady.
Ohhh, this is a good direction to take! I could have written a letter full of choice words to some voles a few years ago.
I was also thinking you might have some words for the car-loving squirrels… 🙂
Oooh, that is a good one!
Yes. This one. My poor green beans again this year have been decimated by the bunnies.
I agree with your words completely. I may have to quote you!
Dear Housework,
Why do you interfere so in my life? You make it so difficult. I have tried many times to come up with a plan to conquer you. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that whatever it takes to gain victory over you, I do not possess.
You constantly interrupt the things that are more important in my life- reading, canning, cooking, reading, spending time with people, writing, helping others, editing, planning VBS, reading.
You are a cruel taskmaster. Not only are you cruel, you are obvious. Everyone knows if you aren’t a good housekeeper, but no one cares that you just found and memorized a new poem.
You are besties with others: my mother, mother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, neighbor. Why can’t you play nice with me?
You act as if having a husband, three sons, and almost three hundred pounds of inside dog makes it all my fault.
You just don’t play fair.
Yours begrudgingly,
Someone who really wants to be reading a book instead of cleaning
Good one Sherri!
I love this!
Kristen, I love your letter!
Regarding this post, I thought of our political climate in this country. We can be so divided as a nation but I believe that for most people there is more common ground than not. I wish that more people could see that. I find it so distressing when some hold the attitude of believe as I do or we cannot be friends. That is both hypocritical and hateful, in my opinion. I know that much of this toxicity really stems from fear, and fear leads to anger. My letter to the people in this country would be to listen, which may lead to loving each other more.
Not trying to be an overly simple Pollyanna. This distresses me a lot. Hard to escape it.
Errr, my sort-of-letter is kind of a downer. Prefer the letters to ravenous bunnies and never ending housework. I should do a do-over! My letter redux would be to the deer that eat our plants, particularly the tomatoes that take so long to grow.
I don’t think your letter is a downer at all! I very much agree with what you wrote. We have got to start finding some common ground. And we need to realize that our opinions come from our individual experiences, and we all have different experiences. I might think you are wrong, but if I don’t at least try to understand that your opinion is because of what you have seen, learned, or experienced, then I am not being very kind at all.
And I couldn’t help but think of the Yoda quote when I read yours: “Fear leads to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
And the far better quote: “Love one another.”
My favorite part:
“One last thing: it is possible to read something on the internet, disagree with it, and say nothing. Every hill is not worth dying on.”
I disagree with things that appear online all the time. I think everyone does. But feeling impelled to comment on it? Almost never. And writing to someone in an unkind way, no matter how much I disagree, would never, ever happen. I think that bloggers who share their opinions in this environment are very brave, and I appreciate them for doing so. I learn so much from this blog.
Very, very interesting. I was jumping ahead and trying to imagine anyone being your enemy! I really like what you did here, and am going to think about this a lot.
Dear Mr. President: Please do not ignore racial injustice, do not scrap medical care that now saves lives, wear a mask and lead the country into stopping disease, think about others, join the world in climate change studies, realize we are all immigrants and act accordingly.
Dear eating disorder,
Please stop sabotaging me at every turn. Stop disguising the things you say as being for my good – they are not. I’m not meant to feel guilty all the time as you wish I would. Please stop mutating quietly into a different form just when I figure out the last one. You are NOT me, no matter how well you can gaslight me!!
NOT yours,
Me