Last week, my sister texted me “happy 1 year anniversary to unraveling the self 💖” (because she’s literally the most thoughtful person I know). But when I opened the message, my only reaction was huh, it’s been a year. I expected to feel a little more excitement or pride or something. But all I felt was apathy.
I want to preface this by saying I stand behind any opinions or information I’ve shared since my first post. The ideas were always mine, and it was stuff I felt passionately about.
When I started this blog, AI had begun integrating into all the media and content I was consuming. I had begun personally using it to work through emotions, help brainstorm ideas, and explain complex topics.
When I decided to start publicizing my writing, I had an overflow of ideas I wanted to share. My immediate thought was to use AI to help me organize my thoughts and get them into words. In my first few posts, I really tried to use my voice, but looking back, I can see that it’s almost completely drowned out.
The more I used AI, the more I recognized its patterns. Over the last year, I’ve become more and more familiar with the writing styles of AI. Now, in every viral Facebook post, every TikTok with a script, every article I read, I see it. I hear it. As soon as I can tell that something was written with AI, I feel the need to analyze it for original ideas. I suddenly feel a disconnect with the person who posted it. I think that’s when I started feeling detached from my own writing.
If you go back and read every post I’ve written, you’ll probably be able to tell which ones had more help from good ol’ ChatGPT (granted, you will find my voice more in more recent posts). They feel less me. Less real. And that kills me because my number one priority when I created this space was to be authentic. I feel like I lost that.
So, from now on, anything I post will be 100% me. Maybe the ideas won’t flow as smoothly, or be as “polished,” or there might be more slang, or more second-guessing of ideas. But that’s okay. That’s what makes me human. This isn’t a corporate-published magazine. It’s my notebook. My own space to be myself and share things that others might connect with.
That’s the whole point. Connecting. If you feel called to read what I write, if you agree with something I say, or if you’re even converted to a new belief, I want that to be because we connected. I don’t want AI to be a middleman anymore.
With all that said, even without AI, it’s hard for people to really connect in this digital age. That’s why we love apps like TikTok. We can see people in their realness. It makes us feel seen and connected (at least those of us that don’t have feeds flooded with AI yetis and glass fruit… ifykyk).
So, when you see content that makes you feel something, and I mean truly feel something, interact with it. Connect with the creator and the other people who feel called to interact. Find community in a time when it feels like that’s being stripped away from us.
Even better, put your phone down. Spend time with your friends, your family, your pets, yourself. See the people around you, actually engage, and listen actively. Be a rebel by not checking social media when you wake up. Meditate instead, talk to your partner, your kids, your mom, your best friend. Connect with the people you love before you give away your emotional energy to a device.
I’m not trying to be blunt, but I can see it reading that way. You have to understand that while I’m definitely talking to you, I’m not just talking to you. I’m talking to myself too, and the people I love. You are getting the same advice, love, and compassion that I want to pour into the people I care about the most. And that’s what you’ll always get here.
With love & light,
Jessica ♡
Unraveling the Self 
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