Learning to Like Oneself Better
By Apolinario Villalobos
Some people are very much affected by the impression they have about others on the aspects of aesthetics and habits. The idolizing consequence drives them to mimic others even to the point of hilarity. The internet once showed an American woman who was suntanned to the max, with her awfully tanned skin, blond hair, red lips that obviously underwent operation in a cosmetologist clinic to give them a pouting look. She admitted that she would like to be someone whose face and body hug pages of showbiz and sports magazine. But she overdid her effort for she became what viewers said was a “human prune”. Some Orientals would like to look like Westerners by dyeing their natural black hair into blond, brown or white. On the other hand, some Westerners would like to look like Asian by undergoing aesthetic operation to have Chinese eyes. Others would even go to the extent of undergoing drug therapy to have a pale porcelain-like Japanese complexion.
On the habits, some people idolize musical and political icons, in the way they flip their hands as they speak, the way they carry themselves when they take strides, or the way they render songs. Even the accents of the idols did not escape the attention of their die-hard followers. Nowadays, we occasionally listen to some people who try to sing like their idol. Admirably, some can even copy the dance moves of their idols.
If these copycats have the skill to imitate others, obviously, they have inborn talents – their own, that they do not just appreciate. In some countries, aspiring singers who copy established ones are not given the chance to shine as originality is more preferred, that unfortunately, jeopardizes the voice quality of the aspirants. One time, in a popular American TV show, a raw talent showcased his impersonating skill which gave him thundering applause from the studio audience. When he was asked to sing with his own voice, the host was surprised because he sounded better than the singers that he imitated. And, there’s this woman impersonator who imitates famous singers in the way they render the theme song of a multi-awarded movie. The impersonator impressed you tube viewers with her own beautiful singing voice which has a better timbre than the famous singers that she imitates. In a rare interview, she confided that she was afraid that her natural singing voice is not good enough to entertain listeners so she made use of it in her stand up comedy acts, but with the comments from you tube viewers, she said that she might focus on another direction.
Imitating others should have a limitation…perhaps, only for fun. To be serious about being somebody just because he or she is well-known or beautiful, is not a good idea. Each one of us has traits that should be appreciated and fully utilized. Masking ourselves with the face of someone else is like being ashame of what God gave us. We cannot be proud of the honor that we reaped by being somebody else, because what we showed is not our own. Admiring fanatically that can lead us to imitating others can make us lost our own identity and self-respect. Imitating is a skill, so perhaps, what we can do to preserve our dignity is limit our pride in that ability, and not for totally being like somebody else.
penpowersong 