Listen, I could never claim to understand
Why you choose to be anything that is not you;
At most, I pace left and right
Trying to put myself in other peoples’ shoes,Â
Not to stay, but to have a better vantage point of reality.
Evasive of the entrapment that blends itself withÂ
The thirst for endless knowledge; easy to be addicted,
Easy to believe you are the smartest in the room
When you spare no expense in telling yourself such.
Perhaps you can help me understand,Â
While you are busy being someone else,
Who replaces your spot on that existential shift?
– O.D. ©2018
Art by:Â ryky
Storytime (so many of them these days aye?). Apologies if there is no coherence, I’m writing in one go.
A few weeks ago I started a procedure of cutting people off. Sounds harsh, I know, but it was necessary. My life was full of people that did not value themselves, people who were fine pulling superficial stunts just to stay ahead. Yes, messing around makes for a good story, but I believe I am past the age of playing games. Which is why I started to distance myself from people who were not taking the time to work on themselves. It may sound selfish, but I believe it may be the only way I become a better person. Now you may be asking where I’m going with all this, trust me, we’re getting to that.
This post is about being impressionable. Without critical thinking, we are susceptible to believe anything that has the strongest pull.
I know someone in my life who is unquestionably impressionable (let’s call them G). This trait in G transcends not only ideas, but character as well. Whenever they are not boasting about what they believe to be the “hottest” topic/idea at the moment, they are pushing forward mannerisms or word choices reflective of others (also exaggerating achievements). I raised this issue, but only once; knowing how easily I offend people at times. G acknowledged that they do at times “copy” others, and they should perhaps stick to their own identity.
Bear in mind, when I raised this issue, my intention was not to change them, but to make them aware of what I have noticed. The choice was always Gs whether they are fine with it or not. Regardless, it was a while back when we talked about it and G still exhibits the trait (again, its none of my business whether they keep it or not). If someone is fine with copying and moving along with the hottest trend it’s entirely their choice.
As if G were a Pokemon, their impressionable nature evolved. Not only were they being pretentious and mirroring the traits of those they admired, they started taking justice into their own (impressionable) hands. For example, if you stole Gs ice cream, to show you that what you did was wrong, G would steal yours.Â
I have mentioned multiple times on this blog that I am not an easy person to deal with, I may rub people the wrong way with what I say. To prove this point to me, G went as far as copying me in an almost satirical way (but they were serious). Whether this approach was right or wrong I will leave that to you to judge. All I know is it made me lose respect for G. I did not see it as a case of G giving me a “taste of my own medicine” but another act of copying. Why did everything G have to offer come in the form of copying? It made me wonder who they are, who was I dealing with? G? or just another copy of me. Could they not approach me as themselves? Instead of having yet another impressionable approach to prove a point. It came across as rather juvenile, and you already know how I feel about people who imitate me (if not, read this)
In other news, I’m thinking of revisiting the Reason(s) series yet again, many people seemed to like it; so did I.Â
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, spend time with those you love. Take care.
O.D. 