Haters. They gonna hate.

If I was in a different place, I’d probably apologize for myself. For everything I’ve ever said. And everything I’ll ever say.

At times, I’m kind of negative. I’m sorry for that. Don’t take it personally. Don’t allow your publication to take it personally. Don’t allow your candidate, or your beliefs, or whatever it is I’ve somehow slighted to take it personally.

See, we’re all part of a vast network of communication. Me. You. All of us. We connect through words and sometimes those words aren’t what you want to hear but I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I feel voicing my opinions and airing my quirks outweigh the silence I once mistook for politeness.

With that freedom, I may have become a little negative.

But that’s only a perception.

Because it’s allowed me to be positive, too. And it’s given that positivity a more genuine stature.

There’s a fragile ecosystem of delicate egos in the creative world – an ecosystem that I freely claim a part of – that frantically searches for reassurance and kudos and can’t live without constant adoration. You guys, I get it. I’m there. Everyone who’s ever put out a small slice of creativity has been there. Unless we’re wasted on old man whiskey, we create both for the reaction and for the art.

In fact, that reaction is the central driving force of art.

If I criticize your work, I’m not criticizing you as a person. If I don’t follow you back on Twitter, or ignore your Facebook friend requests, it’s not because I hate you. If I don’t say anything at all, it’s not because I wasn’t paying attention. We’re all adults here. We’re all having a conversation, even when we’re not saying a thing.

It just feels like, sometimes, if the conversation begins with critique, it will certainly end with the offended party cowering; hiding under the covers.

If something you do isn’t up to par, I’ll tell you. Don’t take it personally. Just know that I have high standards. Standards that I, myself, couldn’t probably even live up to.

And if something you do is mindblowingly awesome – like, tell all of my friends and yell it from the rooftops awesome – then know that whatever it is, it really caused a reaction with me.

For what that’s worth, I suppose.

Looking over this, I understand that I’m probably trying to convince myself of these things. But remember: we release our creativity so others can view and respond. And it’s that act of release that frees us complaint.

We’re opening ourselves for the world, you know. And haters? They always gonna hate.

It’s the ones that do nothing BUT that you’ve got to watch for.