Better To Ask Forgiveness

My creative writing teacher told me this quote, which I'm probably butchering and not even attributing - when a writer is born into a family, that family is finished. I see the point; as someone who writes often about personal experiences, there's a good chance I might reveal some family secret. Though, thus far, I've been skittish about it, as I'm not sure if it's mine to tell. Or I fear the backlash of it, maybe.

The internet is a big place, and I expose myself (ha ha) to that network. But is it my place to write about others in my life? They're part of my story, to be sure. The question is, can I put them there without their permission? Is it better to ask forgiveness? There are plenty of things I want to say, but feel constricted by this idea.

In my creative writing class, I've had to compile 25 - 30 pages of material for my final portfolio. The majority of them was an essay I wrote about the death of my father, spliced with moments from old videos I recently unearthed to transcode to a digital format. I'm not going to dump 19 pages on you, don't worry.

But there are other things I'd like to share. Things I felt okay sharing in class, because it was a limited audience. There are some poems I've written that I'm reading, in front of people, tomorrow -

I guess I'm not sure I have an answer for this conundrum. Do I edit myself? Do I assume involved persons won't read it, or if they do, they'll be fine with it? I really like what I've done this year, what I've created, and want to share it. But I'm just not sure if I have the right to. Especially in such a public forum, the vastness of The Internet.

I guess for now, I'll keep editing myself, cutting out pieces here and there to protect the "innocent." Who knows, maybe one day, I'll have the guts to write it, send it out there, others be damned. Maybe people will love it, maybe they'll hate it.