So I have a passion of sorts and that is to collect quotes. I enjoy reading other peoples' thoughts I suppose, and it creates a connection with people I will never meet, and those I have always admired. Today, while perusing a website for some Oscar Wilde quotes, I came across this one:
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." - Oscar Wilde
You can only imagine how much these words hit home. Actually they kind of smashed home and shattered my opinion of myself. I'm not being dramatic and I'm not claiming an identity crisis, but it definitely made me reconsider my passion. Mr. Wilde is not going to stop me from collecting quotes, but he has succeeded in increasing my wariness about allowing "someone else's opinions," be my thoughts. There is a lot we can learn from other people. And perhaps that is true education, but that need not undermine a person's individuality, or their uniqueness. Besides, it is virtually impossible to be completely and uniquely different in this world, although I don't think that is Mr. Wilde's point.
I realize I am trying to defend myself here against something that may not even be an accusation, but merely an observation of human behaviour. And there's something that makes me laugh. Even though I am acknowledging the fact that there is much truth in Oscar Wilde's statements, my first and foremost concern is to defy his claims and prove myself an anomaly of his generalization. And perhaps, here is another thing 'most people' will do - attempt to distance themselves from such an allegation that dares to place them in a general category. As much as we hate being told we are different, we hate being told we are like others equally, if not more.
This is why I will not give up my endeavour to collect quotes. All the things I learn about myself are so fascinating!
