Sara Ringer « A Guy With Crohn's

Write about your favorite social network. Do you love Twitter? Facebook? Pinterest? Why?

I can remember being a kid growing up in the 1980’s. We would spend the day outside playing with our friends and having fun. After school we would come home and actually do homework. If we behaved we got to watch about an hour or two of television before going to bed. Things were simple and fun.

Now, I can’t imagine not having a computer and on top of that, not having social media. After I boot up my computer and checking emails, the first sites I go to are social media. If I have a question or problem, I no longer Google them, but go to a group online and ask away.

But what is my favorite? Honestly I don’t know. I spend most of my time when I am home on Facebook. I have met many people on there and belong to a number of groups…some IBD related, some not. I was thinking of mentioning some of the groups but then I realized that they are closed groups so the people running them might not want me to mention them. So I won’t. But if you have IBD, just do a search and you will find a lot of groups that deal with IBD. I have met so many great people from these groups and they really have helped me to deal with my disease. It is the one thing that was always missing from my life…meeting people with my disease.

Another great thing about Facebook is that it is Real Time. You can chat with people instantly. Not only have I met some great people, but I have talked with them one to one and gotten to know them better. I have gotten to speak to some of my IBD idols and not only have they helped me out but I have been able to help them out also. We can be there to be a pick me up for each other when needed.

Besides Facebook, I use Twitter a lot. Again, I have been lucky to meet a lot of people with IBD with this site. Again, like Facebook, you can talk to someone in real-time. The only drawback is that you are limited to the amount you can say. A tweet has to be no more than 140 characters. That may sound like a lot of letters but believe me, it isn’t. There can also be a lag at times with Twitter so it isn’t always instant.

The last type of social media site I like, but don’t use as often is YouTube. It was the site that helped get me started on my IBD journey. It is where I got inspiration when I was sick. It is where I learned I wasn’t alone. It is where I met Sara, Maggie, Kelly, and many other inspirational people. I myself tried using YouTube to start my blogging journey. I quickly learned that I was a camera person and I can do better by typing out my thoughts.

Now, there are many more sites out there and some of you might like them. That is fine. I am not against sites like Pinterest or Instagram..I just don’t use them much for IBD related things. Many people do use them so my advice is to go out and explore. Don’t just take what I have to say as an end all. Search the internet. Explore around and find sites that are a good fit for you. There are so many different websites out there. Go out there and have some fun. Just don’t forget to come home for dinner 🙂

Recently, I watched a video from a fellow IBDer and she was talking about seeing other people do amazing things like running races and she was at a point in her life where she couldn’t do those things because of her fight with IBD. I wrote her a letter to help cheer her up and as I was writing it, I realized how much of an inspiration she really had been to me. She was one of the first people I watched on YouTube when I started flaring last year. She showed me that even though we have a chronic illness and it can affect us greatly at times….we should still live our lives.

When I wrote her, I also came to another realization. I have never had a mentor in my life. Whenever I had started a new job, so one ever took me under their wing. I never really had anyone I could say that I truly looked up to. But, she really changed my life and I always find myself looking at what she is doing and try to be a little like her or more specifically, try to be like her in helping people with IBD. To this end, she has kind of been like a mentor to me even though she didn’t know it.

Now, she isn’t the only one that has inspired me. There are so many people out there and if you look back over my blog, you will see who they are. Some of them I have written about. Others, I have included in my “Follow Friday’s”. There are so many great people out there advocating and giving me inspiration to get on with my life.

Recently, I have been starting to flare again and I felt some depression setting in. As usual, I started to withdraw within myself like I used to. But then I saw that video and wrote my online friend. I wrote her to cheer her up but it also was very therapeutic to me. I was able to get some things off my chest. Realizing how much of an inspiration she was in the past, helped to inspire me again. So, I am back fighting again.

Next week is a big part of the battle for me. I see my GI and I will be asking him to switch my meds from Humira to LDN. Since this isn’t a typical treatment for Crohn’s just yet, it will be a battle, but I am ready. If I let the depression sink in, I wouldn’t be able to have the conversation with my GI and argue it effectively. But thanks to my inspiration..I am going in guns blazing.

So, now I ask…..who are your inspiration. I would really love to hear back from you on who inspires you. Whether it is just to continue your fight with IBD, or someone who pushes you to blog, or helps you to get out and about with your life. Is your inspiration a person, a group of people, or a website?

I want to leave you with a quote I found online about inspiration:

“Inspiration is like picking up one of those blinky things in a video game that makes you invincible for a while. You can do anything, go anywhere, and you don’t have to worry about it.

Those blinky things exist in real life too. It may be a picture, or some words, or a sound, or an idea, or a mistake, or a moment. Whatever it is, pick it up and run with it. Run with it like you stole it.

You can’t bottle up inspiration. You can’t put it in a ziplock, toss it in the freezer, and fish it out later. It’s instantly perishable if you don’t eat it while it’s fresh.

Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator. But it won’t wait for you. Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.”

And just incase you are reading this and trying to figure out who my inspiration is…I wasn’t going to say because I don’t like to mention people’s names on here …but it is Sara from Inflamed and Untamed.