What were you in high school? Popular? Nerdy? A jock? I would consider my high school self a mix of all “groups”. Kind of eclectic. Definitely unique.
The good thing about being unique is that as you move into college and eventually beyond college your character allows you to develop into the person you want to be. Not the person you think will be popular, not the person all the other girls want to be like, but the person that is right for you. Then you find that your uniqueness might actually work for you. It allows you to think outside of the box. It allows you to try new things, and create a style of your very own.
Then one day you realize that not everyone puts “unique” down on their list of self characteristics. I doubt they put “copy cat” down either, but you know what I mean. Sure we all borrow ideas from each other. And we definitely all have people we hold as role models. But, a little credit to the original source goes a long way. My mom, like so many other mothers I am sure, told me more than once that imitation should be the sincerest form of flattery. Clearly its not and she was just saying this to try and make me feel better about whatever high school drama-of- the-moment I was currently hurdling.
Ten years out of high school and I still don’t like to be copied. It’s icky. It makes me want to wear solid black every day and paint my house solid white and never share any of my ideas. Probably not the mentality someone ten years out of high school should be having, but my point is imitation hurts my feelings.
I’m not going to wear solid black, I’m not going to paint my house solid white, and I will continue sharing my ideas. If you like them, just tell me so. If you want to use them, be my guest.
My friends, thanks for letting me vent. These feelings have nothing to do with my blogging friends, but more so a situation from my personal life.
maternity: j+d
12 years ago
Ooof, that's tough. It's definitely de-moralizing to feel like someone is poaching your ideas. ESPECIALLY when they don't give you credit for it. I try to remind myself of karma on occasions like this!
ReplyDeletexoxo
ReplyDeleteWay to peg me. I want to ask if I can copy your words for my own reminder. I thought twice about it, laughed and then declined.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry, that's no fun. I'm constantly using other people's ideas for things but I try to credit them always. When people call me creative I think or say, "Not really, I'm just good at finding good ideas and implementing them."
ReplyDeleteIf I were a celebrity, I would say I was an overweight nerd in high school that nobody liked. But I'm not a celebrity so I'll say I landed somewhere in the middle in high school. Not super nerdy, not super popular.