secret_online is a name I've had since early 2010. As the name suggests, I prefer to keep real-life things separate from online, so I'm not going to explain myself any further.
That said, if you'll indulge me for a moment, I'm not sure it's still the right name for me. It has certain advantages: it has some history so old friends know where to find me, it reminds me to keep a healthy separation between online and in-person interactions, and it's unique enough that I don't have to surround it with "XxX_" or numbers when signing up for a new service.
The problem is that I've become more complicated as a person as time has gone on. This name, for all its history, reflects a part of me that is still very valid and worth keeping, but it's not the part of myself that needs exploring. There's another part of myself I need to figure out now.
I don't have a name for that part.
And that's weird to me. This name, secret_online, was one that I never had to think about. It just... happened to me. But now there's something else that needs attention. It's not my real life name, it's not this name, it's something else. It'll have a name one day, and until then I'll continue using this one for all of my interactions online.
I don't know if any of this makes sense to anyone. Maybe it doesn't have to. That's fine too.
💜 - secret