pros and cons of reading stuff on the internet

I read a lot of stuff on the internet. I read blogs and articles and tweets, some on a daily basis.

This is good in some ways. I learn some things. I learn different opinions about some things. I learn new ways to think about some things. Also, a lot of the blogs/articles/tweets I read are funny. Laughing is good. A lot of the blogs/articles/tweets I read are inspiring, too. And challenging.

All this reading is not good in some ways. Because of all my reading, I have come to think that I have few original thoughts. Many, many times, I have read the exact thing that I have written about or wanted to write about. Only, I usually read writing by professionals (can you be a professional writer? I'm not sure; but that's a different blog post), and they say things better than I think I ever could. Then, I get sad about my writing. It will never be as funny/well-written/inspirational/popular as the others'. If I've already written it, mine seems cliche now. If it's still waiting to be written, it won't be, because it has already been said--only better.

Another thing I have a habit of doing is reading inspirational things, getting all inspired and ready to take on the world, and then doing nothing. I'm going to try to stop that. I have decided that this, my first summer in the real world, is a summer that I will really conquer some things. So here it goes. Feel free to hold me accountable.