A Stolen Individuality
Frustration, disappointment, anger, and disgust are some of the emotions that arise when someone attempts to strip pieces of you and call them their own. As menial as it may seem, there are things that I love and things that I have fallen in love with over time... whether they are songs, people, animals, moments, hair styles, colors, etc. Each of those loves makes me unique. They make me feel individual from anything or anyone else.
I am a true lover of individuality and originality. However, there have been many times where I have shared my loves, ideas, or favorites with others only to have them claim those things as their own. For example, I have always had a very distinct love of wildlife that has grown over time to include what I consider to be unique creatures like opossums, skunks, and owls. Friends and family share things related to these creatures with me because they know my love for them. Suddenly, I have a former friend sharing her love for owls. Then, she starts dressing similar to me, wearing her hair the same or as close as possible to mine, doing the same things as me, and so on. Some say this is a form of flattery, but it only makes me angry. It makes me do everything possible so that I do not look like, act like, or even resemble the things that I felt were naturally me, just so I can maintain my own originality.
I don't want you to be like me, and I don't want to be like anyone. I want to be me. I don't want you to like only the things that I like. I don't want you to try to sound like me, look like me, study the things I enjoy, follow the things I like, and I don't even want you to like the same music or artists that I follow. I don't mind having similarities with others, if they are true similarities. Finding true similarities in each other is what brings out strong connections in relationships and friendships. Pretending to like the same things that I like will simply push me away.
Something has to have impact on me, or affect me spiritually, emotionally, and/or physically, for it to fall into my world of favorites. Whenever you decide to try and say that all of these things are suddenly your favorites, it damages the things that I love (in my mind) and sometimes to the point that I no longer like those things (as twisted as that may be). That's my mentality. Whether right or wrong, this is how I see things.
The same feeling goes into our music, lyrics, melodies, and song structures. Sometimes the songs develop fully out of emotion and we let them evolve into their own monster. Sometimes, our music is a carefully orchestrated collective outline that we perfect with our own sound and style as we work through and make decisions about each part. It is always created with our hearts and souls. Always.
Knowing that, I can see how original artists can feel offended when someone rips off a part of their song, whether it be a specific lyric, melody, title, or just a complete re-do of what was already created. When we write music, we aren't trying to sound like another artist, dress like another band, or be something we are not. Our music is a reflection of our individual uniqueness combined to create a collective individuality, and if someone or a group of someones were to mimic that or claim that as their own, it would be heart-breaking.
We should all accept everyone's own individuality and let each other own it. We should all want to be our true selves. Respect another's originality, and don't claim it as your own. Don't be a copy-cat. Try to have some sense of dignity.
