Why I Went Back to Quora
I thought I quit that platform for good. Never say never, almost never…
Quora found me one day in 2017. I don’t recall setting up an account. I opened an email from the site and rather blindly started answering questions about Harry Potter. Eventually, my fondness for Britain spilled out and I tentatively wrote about the royal family. As in Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Diana, and the rest of the gang.
Meghan Markle entered the scene quickly, and suddenly I was spending hours each night researching and writing about Prince Harry, Prince William, Catherine, and Prince George. As long as my fondness for Meghan remained, I stood relatively unchallenged on my answers; but when I noticed she was a drama queen and said so, I found my answers being deleted by moderators. Many readers agreed with my take on the flammable situation, but a determined group decided to aggressively target what I wrote.
I found more of my time consumed with Meghan and her antics. As I dug for answers on the newest royal to marry into that family, I wrote truthful yet ugly accounts on why Kate cried, why Meghan wanted Princess Eugenie’s wedding tiara, and how Meghan wiggled into Harry’s life. A person on Quora took straight aim at me and bullied and doxxed me.
I continued to write, almost in defense of the good royals (the Queen, Prince Philip, William, Kate, Charles and Camilla). I love an underdog, and Meghan seemed to be doing everything in her power to bring that family down, so I persisted in describing the dysfunctional dynamics of Meghan and Harry. When that couple left all the goodies of being a royal to live in Canada, all hell broke loose and people were suddenly very interested in Meghan and Prince Harry.
Friends on Quora messaged me about an angry person spending all of their time writing about me, and I tried to ignore her. I wondered if that person had been hired to try and intimidate me, and finally last summer after realizing I had become a topic on Quora, I felt it was time to leave. I hadn’t received help from the bullying after writing many emails pleading for help, and I felt I had no recourse. I decided the time had come to leap to Medium.
I had spent each night for four years writing answers. Suddenly I had time to read! and watch movies. I needed a break, and to this day I feel like I can’t make up for all the books and time I lost. I’m trying to balance my time these days, and I’m leaning toward writing more on Medium. I can choose the topics, and if people want to read what I think, great. If not, they’ll scroll right on by and I’ll never know.
I need that bliss in my life; that ignorance and innocence. I’m almost finished reading to my heart’s fill, and that means I’ll be taking up my laptop again and filling the space with words. I did go back to Quora, because a person I admire is on both forums, and I decided to emulate him. I write when I want about what I choose now, and it feels fresh and good.
As for Medium, I’m going to keep writing about finding happiness, dealing with pain and illness, depression, parenting and family life. In essence, I’ll be writing on a topic I know and can deal with honestly: me. My thoughts on the royals might wind up here, but I’m not sure. I still take delight in my fondness for all things British, and now Scotland has been added to that list. (I had time to watch Shetland and Outlander this autumn.)
There it is. I’m writing again on Quora several nights a week, and I’ve decided to fully commit to this place, right here, where writers come to inpsire each other. Medium feels friendly and casual. Maybe it’s my naïveté, but this space feels like a cozy coffeeshop where I can lounge in my sweats, drink a chai tea latte and write about my crazy take on this insane life we all live. I hope you’ll join me on both places. I’m here. I’m back, and I’m ready. Let’s go!
