Allow me to first say that everything that is about
to be said is my opinion and mine alone, which I am entitled to and it does not
represent any other opinion of anyone I am affiliated with.
I am done watching from the sidelines. I need to
speak my mind and it is going to happen now.
I entered this community nearly 3 years ago as a
twitter novice just to make friends. And wow have I!! It was those friends who
encouraged me to start a blog and speak my thoughts. Without this community’s support, I know for
an absolute fact that I would not be the same person I am today. Having this
supportive network has helped me in countless ways and I would not trade it for
the world. Just through an internet connection, I have made friendships that
will last a lifetime! This community is just so full of love!
And then….it’s not…..
Sadly, I have also seen negativity in our
community. People trying to get ahead of others, knocking others ideas, bad
mouthing people’s opinions, complaining when one person gets an experience that
they do not get. Newsflash: This does not make you or your ideas look any
better when you put others ideas down! Not to mention the fact that it is SO
un-Disneylike! Allow me to remind you what commonality this community shares: a
passion and love for Walt Disney and his dream. Our common thread is based on a
man who brought so much joy and shared so much with the world. How can a
community based around such good principles fall off the wagon?
One of Walt’s visions was people being able to
live, work and play together in a community. While his actual community was
never made, I honestly believe that we have done so here, in this technologically
connected community. We are living Walt’s
dream…or at least that is what I believe we should be doing. We should be giving each other a helping
hand, promoting each other, supporting each other, sharing ideas, building each
other up. That is what a community is
all about. None of this back stabbing,
swindling, cheating, sneaky shenanigans that I have recently been seeing and
hearing about. That is so not Disney!
People who are paranoid that others are stealing
your ideas or freak out when someone says something to you about your blog:
Stop Caring!! Blog for you and you alone. Writing should be a therapeutic experience,
it should not want to make you start drinking. Stop stressing and just have fun
with it! If other people like it, good for them, but do it for you!
Let’s make this easy:
How to be a Good Disney Community tips:
- Be Genuine, be yourself!! Love you for you and
others will follow! If people don’t like your opinion, that’s their problem,
not yours.
- Give a helping hand to your fellow community
members…This could be something as simple as retweeting an article of theirs
that you enjoyed
-Congratulate someone when they get a special
opportunity instead of pouting because you didn’t get it. Be happy for them, show them support and
learn from their experience to improve.
- Show support for other people’s work. Everyone
works just as hard as you do to make their mark on the community, what’s the
sense or thought process behind putting someone down? What do you gain?
- Compliment someone’s blog post, pictures or
layout
- Say hello to someone (Seriously, this has become
a dying art, what’s up with that??)
- Drop the negativity and attention seeking acts
and tweets, it is not attractive and after a while, people will ignore you and
your negative energy…you can guarantee I already have.
- Make friends with people because of who they
are, not who they know.
- If you have a problem with someone, go to them
and talk it out, do not start rumors about them or talk about them behind their
back. (How old are we, seriously?!)
If you do not like this post….good for you. As I stated above, this is my opinion. If you
have your own opinion and would like to share it with me in a calm, adult
manner, I would love to hear it. If you have constructive criticism, fire away,
I’m all ears. If you want to rant and
rave about how this is unjust and an unfair portrayal of the current state of
our community, I will be glad to listen, but do not expect to sway my opinion.
All I want is to be in a community who cares for
each other, looks out for each other and wants the best for each other. We should be working together to lift each
other up and help each other to reach our full potential. We cannot do that when we are so busy trying
to best one another. Let’s all work each day to live up to Walt’s dream and the
values that make us love his dream so much!
