Friday, May 05, 2006
Well, been busy revising/dissertating lately, which so far is going ok! Inbewtween all that though, I got thinking...
Lots of people I know seemed to have idols when they were growing up. People they aspired to be like, people who inspired them to do better, to improve at the things they wanted to do. Most people I know also had some sort of infatuation with a famous person, be it Leonardo di Caprio or the Backstreet boys or a football team.
I never did that. I don't know why, but I was never completely and utterly in awe of a person, so much that I wanted to know everything about them, mimic their drive to better myself. Obviously there were famous people I liked, but never to the same extent as my other friends it seems. Thinking about it, maybe I did take inspiration from famous people, just not only one...I used to (still do sometimes) study famous people's paintings, copy them and try and see how they did it. While I suppose this is what I described, and obviously there were some that I liked more than others, I never had one that I fixated on completely, not for any length of time anyway.
There are good and bad things about this I suppose: The good side is that despite this, I did push myself in some areas. The bad side? I could have done more. If I had someone specific to follow, see whay they had done, would I have worked harder? I don't know. Like a lot of people, I admire my parents and how hard they work, especially my dad who came to this country like any other doctor that does and has done so well for himself. Though I suppose he would have done no matter where he was. Watching them when I was growing up did make me work harder, but still, as much as I love and respect my parents, I just don't think I'd use the word 'idolise'.
In fact, I probably don't really like the word. The reason I never really had an idol was because I could see and was aware that nobody is perfect. When my friends were obsessing over these people, it seemed like they couldn't see the things they'd done wrong. I suppose I figured that if you follow one person completely, not only would you end up with their success (if you're talented enough I assume!), but also their failures. It's not a given obviously, but I suppose one is just as likely as the other. I think I just prefer to make my own mistakes and follow my own pattern of things. Obviously its useful to have a formula or a pattern to follow, because that's how many people in the world work, but....I'm stubbornly independent at times. Foolish maybe, I know :)
Saying all this though, as I've got older, I have started to admire people more and more. I suppose I'm realising how hard it can be sometimes, how hard you have to work to really stand out from all the other hardworking people around you. I admire people like Albert Einstein for example, for his ideas and intelligence, along with many other people.
Still no idolisation, but one step closer...?
Lots of people I know seemed to have idols when they were growing up. People they aspired to be like, people who inspired them to do better, to improve at the things they wanted to do. Most people I know also had some sort of infatuation with a famous person, be it Leonardo di Caprio or the Backstreet boys or a football team.
I never did that. I don't know why, but I was never completely and utterly in awe of a person, so much that I wanted to know everything about them, mimic their drive to better myself. Obviously there were famous people I liked, but never to the same extent as my other friends it seems. Thinking about it, maybe I did take inspiration from famous people, just not only one...I used to (still do sometimes) study famous people's paintings, copy them and try and see how they did it. While I suppose this is what I described, and obviously there were some that I liked more than others, I never had one that I fixated on completely, not for any length of time anyway.
There are good and bad things about this I suppose: The good side is that despite this, I did push myself in some areas. The bad side? I could have done more. If I had someone specific to follow, see whay they had done, would I have worked harder? I don't know. Like a lot of people, I admire my parents and how hard they work, especially my dad who came to this country like any other doctor that does and has done so well for himself. Though I suppose he would have done no matter where he was. Watching them when I was growing up did make me work harder, but still, as much as I love and respect my parents, I just don't think I'd use the word 'idolise'.
In fact, I probably don't really like the word. The reason I never really had an idol was because I could see and was aware that nobody is perfect. When my friends were obsessing over these people, it seemed like they couldn't see the things they'd done wrong. I suppose I figured that if you follow one person completely, not only would you end up with their success (if you're talented enough I assume!), but also their failures. It's not a given obviously, but I suppose one is just as likely as the other. I think I just prefer to make my own mistakes and follow my own pattern of things. Obviously its useful to have a formula or a pattern to follow, because that's how many people in the world work, but....I'm stubbornly independent at times. Foolish maybe, I know :)
Saying all this though, as I've got older, I have started to admire people more and more. I suppose I'm realising how hard it can be sometimes, how hard you have to work to really stand out from all the other hardworking people around you. I admire people like Albert Einstein for example, for his ideas and intelligence, along with many other people.
Still no idolisation, but one step closer...?
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