Now you might understand why I am an ardent American Idol fan. Yes, I watch every show (without skipping through the commercials!). It is my time for entertainment, after a hard days work. Believe it or not, I was inspired to write this post, based on a certain comment that was made by Paula. (So may be watching American Idol is not a total waste of time!)
Let me take you back to last week, when the top 12 girls sang. Just before Kady Malloy started singing, they showed a recap of some scenes recorded backstage during Hollywood week. In an attempt to get her nerves out, Kady did an excellent imitation of Britney Spears. (Watch the embedded clip.)
However, her song Groovy Kind of Love, didn’t “wow” the judges. Simon said, when she does Britney, she's brilliant, but when she does herself, the lights go off. He went on to say, “I don’t know who could impersonate you”!
After Simon's slaughter, Rayan came over and asked a question from Kady. Not only to Kady but this is one question that is very important to each one of us. Rayan’s question was, “Is it difficult being you because so much is at stake?”
How Should I Be? JUST BE …!
The conversation progressed and Paula explains to Kady that she probably gets too caught up wondering how she should be, but that's the whole thing, she needs to just "be.""Your identity is your most valuable possession."
— The Incredibles, That Elastic-Girl —
Not only American Idol contestants, but many of us also fall into this trap.
When I was in my early teens, I was infatuated with the dress code of the most popular girl at my school. Every time I went shopping, I would look for cloths that matched her style of dressing. The cloths were never "me", but I "copied" her dress sense with the hope of being popular. As with many things at that age, after sometime I grew out of that.
Let’s turn our head towards blogging. Haven’t you every tried to "imitate" what the famous bloggers are doing? Did you copy their blog template? blog structure? Some would even go as far as imitating the writing style of famous bloggers. Perhaps this is done with the intention of gaining more popularity. The mind set of "What worked for him/her will work for me" is established.
Imitating the blogging style of someone else was just one example. There are many other areas that we all struggle with and sometimes when the stakes are high, it so very temping (and easy) "to be someone else".
You and I have come long way since our childhood. I am sure you will agree with me, when I say - many factors have influenced you to be the person you are today.
I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter? Have you ever tried adapting another person's characteristics? How far did you go? Where do you draw the line between gaining influence from someone and protecting your identity?
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