Jump off the bandwagon

Just be yourself. Trust me, it’s better than being an annoying copycat.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde in his pithy aphorism sums up the importance of retaining one’s individuality.

I believe that every human being is special because each individual is gifted with separate talents and qualities. So then why do people copy each other? I understand that people admire celebrities and other famous people, but why must they follow them blindly? Why must we completely annihilate our individuality and start mimicking someone’s hairstyle, clothing or ideas.

It’s definitely flattering when people appreciate your work or looks by replicating them. However, there’s a fine line between admiration and absolute mimicry. The relentless copycat is definitely an annoying creature and loses his personality in the quest to living up to his ideal.

I really can’t stop wondering why people — even on social media — parrot each other by stealing status updates and retweeting ideas and opinions of other people? Why can’t people just be creative and tout their own imagination and opinions on Facebook and Twitter? Here’s my opinion on people circulating the same information repeatedly: if you don’t have anything original to say or write then please don’t re-write what someone has already said. I don’t like seeing the same status a hundred times on my Facebook’s feed, thank you. And I totally abhor the bazillion retweets that clog my twitter update page.

In today’s age, when we can basically unleash a deluge of information and ideas just at the click of a mouse, we often feel tempted to plagiarise. For instance, quotes.com will provide you with all the pithy sayings for drawing room conversations and jokes.com will give you all the limericks you can share with your friends. But hold your horses before you simply reverberate stuff written or said by other people. Reflect on who you are as a person and your own ideas and worldviews. You can’t be yourself if you don’t know, understand, and accept yourself first. It should be your primary goal to find this out. Find the time to dwell on what you value and take time to consider what makes up the essence of who you are. During this exercise, contemplate your lifestyle and choices.

You can even take personality tests, but be careful to only take what you want from them so that you do not let such tests define you. Instead, ensure that you understand yourself on your own terms and feel absolutely comfortable with. You have to realise your uniqueness and accept it. This is a difficult path to tread, though. You might always be tempted to be like others or wish for their lives, but behind perfect facades, there are unsavoury truths that remain hidden from us. In this world, no one is perfect so don’t copy them.

Don’t follow others because if you’re always striving to be someone you’ll never be a happy person.

There is a very famous phrase by John Mason, “You were born an original. Don’t die a copy”. Mimicking others for popularity and fame may temporarily give you pleasure but it will thwart you from exploring your originality. Just be yourself. Trust me, it is much better than becoming an exasperating copycat.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2012.