Friday, April 27, 2012

"X" is for Xerox...

perceptions + quotes + reality +
A to Z Challenge~

 

Do you recall as a child when a classmate or friend arrived in school with a new-fangled toy such as Mr. Potato Head or Gumby that you just had to own it? Or how about in junior high when all the girls were sporting a lunch box with David Cassidy on the front, oh la lah well, each teeny-bopper was begging their mother or father to buy the container. How about that psychedelic tye-dye t-shirt, you wanted one didn’t you?
No doubt, if you happened to be the usual adolescent you consumed your formidable years aspiring to be identical to each and every person in your school-an identical being.  This desire to replicate each creature in your presence was critical to the development and acceptance of self. I know personally I hoped to be a carbon copy of my friends because it was cool and ensured acceptance within society, or at least the society of my own educational environment.
I wonder, was it an exact moment or a gradual process when I ceased to hope to be more than a counterfeit of my friends be it their property, their personality or their mannerisms?  Though recognizing it’s a challenging period developing into the person you were meant to be and almost certainly we all spend a lifetime emerging into our personhood.
Quite simply, although not a simple process, we are a work in progress and not a xerox copy.
"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. "

~e.e. cummings

35 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Wonderful X post Tracy. enjoyed the read.

Yvonne.

Old Kitty said...

Lovely Tracy!! I can honestly say hand on my heart that it was only when I turned 40 (well when I was 39!) when I totally decided it was fun to be just me. I think before then I was trying so hard to be "like others" only succeeding in making me most unhappy!

Take care
x

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, I remember everyone receiving a John Romain pocketbook in jr. high and I had to have one! These days, I am happy with a thrift store purse!

Jo said...

So true,Tracy. I like the quote at the end of your post too. Have a great weekend. Jo

TexWisGirl said...

great use of 'x'. :)

Julie Flanders said...

What a creative use of x, I love it. And, I can totally relate to this. I was well into adulthood before I had the courage to just start being myself.

Wanda said...

Wow, that last paragraph just jumped off the screen with meaning.

A lesson we all must learn to be what God wants us to be, and not carbon copies of what the World thinks is Good.

BTW my girls have David Cassity posters, and I can't remember if they had the lunch pails.

EXcellent post for X.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Yes, my friend Erin had one of those toy cows that you could really milk and I wanted one so badly! She was nice enough to share at least ;-)

Thank goodness we're not all xeroxes, huh?

Ginny Hartzler said...

This raises some interesting questions, and I have a thought about wanting to be like everyone else when we re growing up. We are not yet formed as a whole adult, and we learn something from each person. So our personality is really a combination of all these things integrated...

Zebsmom said...

I was always so over weight in high school I knew I was never going to be like everyone else, so I didn't even try.

Now, I am learning everyday how important I am, and how I have been given this vessel to learn and to move along in the world.

This was a great use of x, thanks for the thought provoking post!

Marianne (Mare) Baker Ball said...

e.e. cummings is right on this one. Beautiful use of X and trying to copy others. Only 2 more days! What will we do next?!

Nancy said...

I think being yourself often comes in the form of imitating or adopting things we've seen or experienced through with people... making it your own is the tricky part!

Wonderful post, Tracy.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

What a unique take on the word Xerox. Clearly, YOU aren't copying anyone else's thinking. Wonderful post.

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

Good one!
This got us all talking today in the office. :-)

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

Good one!
This got us all talking today in the office. :-)

Unknown said...

So true, we're all works in progress! But when all is said and done I like being me...

Donna K. Weaver said...

"I wonder, was it an exact moment or a gradual process when I ceased to hope to be more than a counterfeit of my friends be it their property, their personality or their mannerisms? "

You know, that's dang brilliant.

momto8 said...

I mentioned to my kids they should xerox that copy..and they all looked at me like "what?" then my husband reminded me this generation doesn't even know that term..b/c all their own personal computers also make copies!

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

A great take on Xerox! I don't know when I stopped wanting to be like others. I just know that now I am glad that I have my likes, dislikes, temperament, personality, etc. It's not that I think I don't need to improve--it's just that I think I was made this way for a purpose, and I wouldn't want that messed up by me trying to be just like someone else. If that makes sense . . . .

Judy said...

What a great X post! And so true! I was so happy when my children wanted to be "them" instead of like their friends :)

Arlee Bird said...

I tended to be a loner and set myself apart much of the time. But I too would latch on to certain trends and want some things that others had. Even in my rebellious leanings I'm sure I was emulating someone else I had seen.


Lee
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Dot said...

great post for X, Tracy!

Empty Nester said...

Pretty sure this is the best 'x' post I've read! Excellent point and well put!

M said...

Interesting post. I just remember in high school I always did things differently and started a few trends....but once everyone else did it I would switch to something new. Gotta love Gumby though :)

Sherry Ellis said...

What an excellent post! I wasn't sure what you were going to say about Xerox, but you made it really meaningful!

betty said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and your comment :) I did enjoy reading this; so glad we eventually do decide to be our unique being and not a xerox of someone else; now if we could only instill that into our children earlier than later :)

yep, we are almost done with the challenge; its been fun!

betty

Connie said...

Well said, Tracy. I think it takes us all a while to figure out who we are and to be comfortable in our own skin.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Great x post! I think it's very important to be true to our uniqueness.

farawayeyes said...

Very thoughtful. hope I am who I really am, but still not grown up.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I would feel sorry for anyone who was a carbon copy of me.... ha ha ha ha.... YES---we are unique individuals and we need to celebrate that...

Hugs,
Betsy

Joyful said...

To be honest, I don't recall wanting what other kids had or wanting to be like them. I'm glad I didn't have those thoughts as it would have made my life much harder.

Arkansas Patti said...

Wonderful thought that I sadly had not pondered till now. You are right, there is a time when we no longer feel the need to conform. Now I will think about when that happened. Thanks, I think.

Chatty Crone said...

Gosh that would be such a long story for me to write here and now. But it takes a lot of hard work into growing up and accepting yourself for who you are and that you are okay just the way you are.

Love, sandie

Patricia Stoltey said...

excellent post...and I'm still not sure I know who I really am...

Beth Zimmerman said...

Too bad most of us spend our whole lives trying to figure out exactly who it is that we're meant to be!