The Trolls Will Come

The trolls will come.

I moved to Spain on Friday. No big deal, not too far away, I’ll be back and forth to Ireland when I need to be. I’m excited about it. It’s certainly a privilege to be able to move away. It’s not one I take for granted.

When I tweeted about my move on Friday I mentioned how it’s becoming increasingly difficult to live in Ireland. It’s unaffordable, there are very few places to rent or buy. I moved here, one because it’s a cool place to live, but also because it was more financially viable. Although the work I do will continue to focus on and help the people of Ireland, I won’t live there. Which seems strange but it’s a sign of the times, I suppose.

When I tweeted that I didn’t expect the reaction. I thought a handful of people would like it and move on. Instead, a lot of people liked it and sent well-wishes, but it was also found by a more sinister side of Twitter. The side of Twitter that says thinks like ‘Ireland’s full’ and are openly racist. They name-called, cajoled, harassed and spewed. They were angry at me for leaving while simultaneously telling me not to return. It was as contradictory as it was ridiculous. The trolls came. In all shapes and sizes they came and started giving out about immigration. Getting angry at a complete stranger to feel better about themselves.

As my career progresses, situations like this happen more and more often. They no longer affect my mental health to the same degree. IF people are giving me shit online I find it quite easy now to keep myself disconnected from it. I don’t get stressed or anxious about anything that’s being said. But when I was younger this happened quite a bit.

All of this is to say that sometimes you’ll be able to notice how much you’ve grown. There’ll be moments that show you. It’s nice to know that people saying absolutely wild shit online doesn’t have a direct emotional impact on me. Because we live in a time where there are a lot of wild people saying wild shit online, so it’s a good time to realize that I remain unaffected by it.

I also have a Substack