The Person Behind: Indy’s Soliloquies

After a little social media break on my part I am back with another feature of The Person Behind. Joining me today is Indy, a young blogger with the intention of creating a space of honest communication and inclusiveness.

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Fiona: I know this is a tough question to even begin to answer but who are you?

Indy: On the surface, I guess I’m just some teenager, who writes things on a blog, and hopes others will write back. I have a handful of really close friends that I cherish, and I tend to keep to myself a lot which can cause people to assume I’m quite bland. But I really don’t mind what others think that much. I’m definitely someone who tends to think and contemplate a lot. Which of course isn’t a bad thing, but can also make me feel slightly on the outside, looking in. Not to make this doom and gloom, as I do love myself and who I am as a person. I see myself as someone who is loyal to people, even when they have no idea. For example, if I overhear something I probably shouldn’t have, or someone tells me something I shouldn’t know about someone else, then I kind of just keep it to myself instead of spreading things that I don’t even know a thing about.

So that was my messy attempt at answering who I am. Hope you can make some sense of it haha.

Tell me a little about your blog, Indy’s Soliloquies. How did you come to create this creative outlet and what have you learnt from it since first starting out?

For me, Indy’s Soliloquies wasn’t the beginning. It started about nine months earlier when I created The Iridescent World of Indy (which no longer exists) that I started this blogging journey that we are all on today. It was messy and honest, and full of private thoughts, and I was – at that time – kind of anonymous. As anonymous as you can get when your name is in the title, of course. But you know, things happen, and an ex-best friend, that I wrote a fair bit about decided to share it with some new friends, and soon enough it had swept through the school. I was terrified, for a while. For weeks, everytime someone looked at me a little too long, I thought they must know my secret. All my secrets. And then, I was kinda like fuck it. It’s out. I decided to start a new blog though, since the previous one was messy, and swamped with personal stuff, so I decided when creating Indy’s Soliloquies that I would still be honest and personal, but instead with my thoughts and myself, rather than what was going on in my life. And so far, Indy’s Soliloquies has become something I’m proud of, and that I advertise on my Instagram, and that for the most part, I am very open about. It still kinda shocks me when people bring it up. So, I think we can say, that through it all, my blogging journey has taught me more than just online experiences, but also how to deal with other people gossiping and all that annoying high school shit.

We both actually have a “Monthly Music” feature on our blogs. How big of a role does music play in your life?

Music is probably one of my favourite things in this world. I don’t know what I would do without it. I listen to it when I’m happy, sad, in the car, walking, running, sitting, in the shower. Literally, any place I can play my music, I will. It’s one of those things that really connects us to ourselves, and allows us to feel the emotion from someone else’s words. It’s energetic, sad, soulful, happy… the list goes on. I spend hours putting together my monthly music playlists, but it more so feels like I’m swallowed by a swirling black hole of thought, and only emerge when my finished product is complete. There are numerous bands I’m dying to see, and my friend swears I discover a new one every week. I’m really into alternative rock kind of stuff, and I especially appreciate bands from my own country. Their music honestly feels like home. And it’s exciting when you see a music video, and you can just TELL its filmed here in Australia, from the way the streets and shops look. It might sound strange, but its true. And for my next monthly music, I’m going to have the playlist on my Spotify, with some bonus songs!

One thing that really stands out to me on your blog is your bookclub Beyond The Surface. Can you explain a little what this bookclub series is all about and how it came to be? In addition to that, what has your experience been like with collaborating and working with others via social media?

I started that with a fellow blogger, Tiana, The Book Raven, and was really excited about it, and I really did enjoy it. We focused all on mental health and were attempting to get rid of the stigma surrounding it. And it was honestly really fun and easy working with her, but soon enough the books started to take their toll on me. Constantly reading these intense books, started to affect my own mental health, and eventually, I decided to do what is best, which was to take a break from it all. It didn’t feel right, to force myself to read and review books that continued to affect me badly. And I think I just need to break it up a bit. Like, maybe not one (mental health themed) book a month, but one a year, or something like that, so that it doesn’t put me in a bad place again. But if it is something that interests you, please take a look at it, and maybe even join the book club.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbtrrDFHsJK/?taken-by=indywatson

You recently wrote a post titled ‘Together Alone‘ which is about experiencing solitude together, as a collective, and evolving as a blog and as a person. How do you think having a blog has impacted you and your life?

Blogging has definitely impacted my life in a positive way. Its probably safe to say it was a rocky start before Indy’s Soliloquies was created. But now, it’s like this place, where I can just sit down and write out all my thoughts, that seem to always surround a certain topic playing on my mind, and I post it, and then I get feedback. And I get to see that I am not alone in my thoughts. I think that particular blog post you referenced was sparked from two things; 1. the fact that no matter what it was I said on my blog someone out there could relate to it, and 2. Will Darbyshire’s video I Feel Lonely. Blogging allows me to be honest with myself, but to also put my thoughts together into sentences that make sense. It is almost like an online diary of all my thoughts, but it also shares the thoughts of others. Friends will message me or come up to me with comments and thoughts on my most recent blog post, and it’s so very touching. Especially on the occasion that I get a message from someone I’ve barely ever spoken to, that has found something of worth in my blog and has felt like it was worth letting me know their thoughts, even though we barely know one another.

This season of The Person Behind aims to highlight feminism and social media’s role within it. As a young teen and social media user, how do you feel about the influence social media has over us when it comes to social issues nowadays?

I honestly think social media is the main place in which we discover and discuss social issues today for young adults and teenager. As a lot of us tend to not watch the news or even regular TV, we tend to discover breaking news because it swarms the internet. All the school shootings that have happened this year were all over my discover page on Instagram. The devastating news travels faster on the internet than one would think.

I would like to quote something you wrote that resonated with me a lot: “I think sometimes we forget about self-love, and it becomes something that falls into the backs of our minds, until it gets lost. And we’re always on this journey, looking for love within someone new. And that’s where we fail.” Could you give me a brief summary of your own self-love journey so far and how (social) media has impacted it?

For me, I think self-love was almost a change in my state of mind. I had to really think about who I was, what I valued, and what I wanted to do in life. I have to put myself first and make sure that I’m taking care of my body and mind, and I’m constantly making little improvements upon my daily routines to make me happier and healthier. For example, I stopped watching TV while eating breakfast, and instead opt for music, an audiobook or podcast. And I’m always working on cutting down the time I waste on my phone because I KNOW that deep down I prefer to read or do something more important or productive. Social media has worked both ways for me. Certain people and pages tended to bring me down and not feel good enough, or that my life was not glamorous like their’s, yet others remind me to keep living life, and to not get too distracted with work and school, but to remember to have fun as well. So I think you just have to be mindful of who you are following and how their posts make you feel.

A question I like to ask fellow bloggers is if they see themselves working in the creative industry one day. What about you?

I definitely hope to work in the creative industry one day. One of my dreams is to just travel the world, and make money off my blog, as I talk about my travels and continue to discuss random thoughts. I also hope to write a book one day. I’m not sure what about, or how, and I think for now I need a bit more life experience before I can write of what I know, but I do hope to have my very own novel one day. I’d also love to work in film, like a crazy dream of mine is to be a director, but I’m honestly fine just being the continuation person on set. I really love film, music, books, and basically any art form there is, so that’s definitely the environment I hope to work in.

What can we expect from Indy’s Soliloquies in the future?

In the future of Indy’s Soliloquies, you can expect more fashion related posts that I hope to work on soon. I’m also contemplating filming on my trip to Malaysia, and I might post that on my blog as well. I want to really improve the structure and writing style of my posts and include more photos. I’m also curious to post some poems and more interactive stuff. Right now, I’m a tad unsure of which direction I want to take my blog in, but I know I want to continue writing the honest posts that usually just pour out of me, eg. thoughts on feeling lost, and moving forward.

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A big thank you goes to Indy for reaching out to me to be featured! I can not recommend her content enough – her blog is amongst the few that I draw actual inspiration from.

✹ Click here to visit Indy’s Soliloquies ✹

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About this series:

Season two of The Person Behind revolves around fellow creatives and their individual experiences with social media and self-expression. This season aims to emphasize feminism and outdated social constructs and underline the significance of raising awareness and spreading the word.

IF YOU WANT TO BE FEATURED ON THE PERSON BEHIND, CONTACT ME HERE.