40. We must learn to share
I am here to defeat the allegations that I am a Taylor Swift impersonator in my spare time and no, I didn’t just make that up (I guess cutting my hair was a good idea in the end). I jest, this piece is about copycats and how they present throughout our lives.
Thinking back to primary school, I stuck mostly to my lane but on the odd occasion when someone would truly copy me, I would scrunch up my nose the same way I would when mum would say no to getting me Maccas cookies on the way home. Perhaps our imitation habits started in those primary years when you “accidentally” used the same colours as your best friend to draw a picture. Or maybe it was that time the cute guy in the grade four class said his favourite colour was hot pink and everyone followed suit. And for my vintage, it was definitely in 2015 when all the girls at school started exclusively wearing hair scrunchies on their wrists… what was the point?
To say the point is to “stay on trend” doesn’t satisfy me. I must admit, I was always late to the trends or had it a little bit wrong. Even when I flashed my shiny new phone case at school, one of the popular girls scoffed that it was indie of me. I stuck to my guns before I got a new case, and then all of a sudden iridescent-clad accessories were everywhere (no, I have never forgotten it but I am over it).
Copycat is just two words joined together. The word itself sounds childish and thoughtless, perhaps why it is so suiting to its definition:
I think we can agree that not all writers are copycats, right? RIGHT?
Not only does it pertain to wearable items, but human beings too. The students who used to dob on the teacher when someone copied them grew up and resorted to the internet and X to word vomit their emotions. Take celebrities like Taylor Swift, with such dedicated fans for over a decade, before the same loving fans became almost remorseful at all the popularity she received from the Eras Tour. It brings out this weird jealousy that new supposed “fake” fans are jumping on the bandwagon. They are the type of jealous fans who realise they now have to share this person they have been raving about and trying to tell you how good they are for years. I have unfortunately been that jealous fan and it’s not a nice colour on me.
I was the self-proclaimed “Zac Efron Girl” at primary school and early years of high school; I told everyone fun facts about him and would collect posters my peers found in their TotalGirl magazines (shoutout to all of you for feeding my borderline concerning obsession).
I was a 13-year-old who knew nothing about drugs, alcohol, or whatever the kids at school were telling me their mums read about Zac Efron’s rehab at the hairdressers, yet I was relentlessly, albeit confusingly defending him. Blinded by the love I had for a stranger (I was young give me a break).
Although I’ve openly discussed my fangirl tendencies on this blog, it’s worrying seeing similar actions maliciously play out online nowadays. Fandoms where people find community and friendships, are now some of the finest displays of repeated possessive behaviour and exclusionary habits in the fast-paced social media landscape.
What started as harmless copying and adoration in our schooling years, are turned into a reason to dislike one another. Instead of embracing flattery, we sometimes instead fiercely protect our originality; it has never been so precious. I have a love-hate relationship with this sentiment and I know I’m not alone. Why are we terrified to be different yet afraid to all be the same?
To be continued.
