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There is a saying ”imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” But is it really?
Sometimes, this is true. As a parent, you want to be a role model to your children. The good things that you do; treating others with respect, caring for others, doing things for others; we want our children to imitate those. As a workforce instructor, I always wanted to model positive things that I would want my students to notice; dressing in professional clothing, speaking in a positive way about my skills and theirs, and supporting and encouraging them with their goals. If someone told me that they liked what I did and would like to do a similar thing, I would be happy and somewhat flattered.
But, at other times, imitation means making fun of the way a person does things or how they say things; repeating what they say mockingly. In these instances, no one would be flattered. At times with aphasia and apraxia, I can sound like I’m drunk, unintelligent, or even confused. I sometimes worry about people making fun of me and others with the same challenges.
But, in both of these examples, the imitation is of a person’s actual voice, actions, or what he wears.
Can a person’s writing be imitated? What if someone takes your writing and puts it out there in the world as theirs? I have always been taught, especially in school, that this is plagiarism. If a person takes what I’ve written, copies it, and puts it on their own blog, should I be flattered?
I have gone through so many emotions today. As I usually do in the mornings, I looked at my Twitter feed to see what my “friends” have posted. If you follow this blog, you know that most of my Twitter friends are stroke survivors and people with aphasia (PWA). Then I looked at Facebook. Most of the posts, I just glance at. I am following too many stroke support sites and a lot of the posts are complaining about symptoms lately. (More on that in another blog post later.) One of the sites I read is the Ultimate Blog Challenge page. I also don’t have the time to read everything but I pick one or two to read and comment on. Today, I thought, “I haven’t really read any of the stroke or aphasia blogs I follow lately” so I went to several sites.
Well, I was blown away when I read my own words on another person’s blog. It was so weird. I didn‘t know what to think. At first, I questioned “did I really write what I thought I did?” It sounded just like me! I remembered writing about the topic lately. Or did I? I actually had to go to my blog to confirm. That’s aphasia for you; you question your own memory.
I had all kinds of emotions still. But the one thing that kept coming to my mind was the phrase “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Should I be flattered or upset?
I contacted my fellow bloggers in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. They were able to make me see more clearly. With a lot of thought and self reflection, I choose to see this person’s actions as innocent, not intentional. I was a bit proud that he was moved enough by my words to include them as his own. And I remembered why I write my blog - to share my story and hopefully help other stroke survivors, especially PWA, know that they are supported in their journey and can find hope as I did. I concluded, we are both bloggers who are trying to share our story for those who are facing similar challenges. In a way we are colleagues. I contacted that person and he immediately changed his post to include my name and a link to my blog. I really do appreciate that.
“Flattered and proud“. I changed the title of this post at least 3 times before deciding on this one. Ultimately I was flattered by the inclusion of my words on another blog. More exposure is always a good thing. But more importantly, this incident made me realize how far I’ve come in my aphasia journey. In less than 3 years, I’ve gone from not being to speak at all and barely able to write one word to NOW - being able to share my writing with you all and having my writing influence at least one person. I am so super proud of the hard work that brought me here. And I thank everyone who helped me along the way. I am also proud of myself for standing up and advocating for myself and my work. Those of you who have aphasia know the struggle and frustration of not being able to access the words you want and the victory when you actually get the word out of your mouth or onto the paper or text.
QUESTION - what are you most proud of today?
Until next time……..
P.S. I finally learned how to put this blog on audio. If you’d like to hear me read the post, click on the audio link on the top.
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The definition of imitation:
[ˌiməˈtāSH(ə)n] 1. the action of using someone or something as a model. "a child learns to speak by imitation" synonyms: emulation · copying · following · echoing · parroting
an act of imitating a person's speech or mannerisms, especially for comic effect. "he attempted an atrocious imitation of my English accent" synonyms: impersonation · impression · parody · mockery · caricature · [more]
music the repetition of a phrase or melody in another part or voice, usually at a different pitch.