On Pretension

Appearing pretentious remains one of my biggest fears in most anything I do, most specifically in writing. What makes me an expert on anything? Why would anyone want to read my thoughts? What if what I say simply falls on deaf ears?

My humble upbringing in the South taught me not to flaunt anything, and my explorations in yoga and philosophy continue to compel me towards living a polite and simple life. Living in New York seems to be a contradiction of these ideals, as I have observed that the mantra here seems to be, "fake it til you make it." Yet there seems to be something within me that will not allow me to fake anything. Do it real, and do it right, or don't do it at all. 

It is most certainly a challenge living in a city surrounded by capitalism, greed and pretension. But I never could do things the easy way. 

It is important to me that this reminder appear here so that I will remember not to be pretentious in any of my writing. I will be confident, courageous and daring, but I will not feign any knowledge. I will not write to impress. I will not flaunt anything, rather reveal inner thoughts and outer observations.