Prompt: Reflect on the types of things you feel compelled to hide. Maybe it’s some habit around food or a past indiscretion. Maybe it’s something that you worry would make people think less of you—maybe for good reason, maybe not. Your task is not to write about those particular things, but to answer the questions: Where does this impulse come from? How is this connected to what you fear—and why?
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"Don't air your dirty laundry."
How many times did I hear that growing up? Private matters stay private. What happens in this house stays in this house. Sweep it under the rug. Put a public spin on the unpleasant truths. What would so-and-so think if they found out??
This has resulted in two impulses. Or maybe three.
1) Keep it clean. Can't air dirty laundry if it's always freshly scrubbed. No skid-marked undies on my clothesline. Nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to hide.
2) Shit still happens, though, and when it does, you go into full on stealth mode. I'm not good at this. See: My childhood attempt to conceal the evidence of my candy binges by stuffing the wrappers in the corner pocket of a pool table.
3) Fuck so-and-so! Why do I care what they think? They don't know my life! Like walking naked through my own home - if you peek in my windows and what you see makes you uncomfortable, shame on you for looking.
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