So, if you’re on this page, that means you’ve been reading my blog for a while or have some interest in Children’s Literature (I hope.) And if you’ve read my stuff, you’ve probably noticed this little picture popping up in a lot of my posts too.
I promise you there’s a simple enough and important reason for this little thing that keeps popping up in some of my posts, over and over and over again. I try not to do it too much. Really. However, this little red thing is important. It acts as a stop sign. For those of you that don’t know: triggers are things that may cause distress. I put trigger warnings up when my posts are about to become depressing. Things such as
- abuse
- bullying
- trauma
- suicide/self destructive behaviours
If these are mentioned in my posts, you’ll get this red stop sign and a bolded note before you start reading, telling you exactly what I’ll be talking about, so that there are no surprises and so that you can make an informed decision as to whether to keep reading or not. (I know I hate bad news just being popped on me. I find it unfair.)
And you’re probably thinking, (like I used to) “Dude, why do you keep beating this stuff out? Are you depressed? Can’t you write something… I dunno, like happy?” and I’d answer you, “Well, I could, but life isn’t always happy. Children’s books aren’t always happy, because children’s lives aren’t always happy.” If I’m writing about literature, there’s a chance I’m writing about life too; and well, I wish life was all unicorns and rainbows, but it’s not. I’m sure that everybody would feel a lot better if life were like that, and less stressed; but life is what it is: can’t change it, can’t make it go away- sad, but true.
I will however make a few promises:
- I’ll try my best not to have too many of these heavy posts. They will happen, and you should be ready for them, but it doesn’t mean it will always be heavy, dramatic, scary stuff.
- I will ALWAYS warn my readers before I do post something that will most likely be upsetting or scary. I won’t run away from the topic, but I’ll give a warning beforehand.
- You’ll get a picture of a unicorn; right about now.
See? I’ll keep my promises.
So, there are two sides to everything. Light… and Dark. Unicorns and rainbows…. and Depression. That doesn’t mean that we should give up on everything. It just means that there are two sides to every story, a brighter side, and a darker side, and well; I just think it’s important to look at both.
It's all kids stuff. 