"I want to be like . . ."
I want to be like . . .
Published 9.9.10 Cass Lake Times
By Allan Olson
It seems that one stage that is hardest to get over for many people is that they want to be like someone else rather than just be themselves. Many kids – especially teenagers – want to be “cool” like some of their older peers and lose track of who they really are.
The same can be often be said of kids in the younger days of growing. At our last vacation we had a nephew, Ben, of the ripe old age of 10 camping with us. Since we live a couple hours away and my kids don’t often see him, it was great for him to spend time with us.
But watching him and then watching my oldest son Nikolai, the old age of 7, and another cousin, Mike of the same age, follow the oldest cousin around.
Of course, since Ben was older, the younger two looked up to him and wherever Ben went, they were sure to follow.
When we arrived at our vacation spot, I noticed he was trying to tan like his older sister so he was walking around with no shirt on. Then I spotted my other nephew, Mike who, too, was shirtless. However, the connection didn’t hit then. But, before the end of the day, my son was shirtless.
This no-shirt pattern continued through most of the next day. He told me, “I never wear shirts.”
That’s when the connection hit. He never runs around without a shirt any other time, but since he had two cousins to follow – he wanted to be like them.
It’s funny how early this pattern of wanting to be like someone else starts.
Are we ever content to just be us?
The younger kids often want to mimic those athletes or actors seen on television, but if we look closely at them, do we really want to be like them?
I see this pattern in my younger kids as well. The show “Diego” comes on and my youngest son, Marcus, says “that’s me.” Diego’s sister comes on the screen and he says, “That’s you, Abi,” to his sister.
Of course, at that age it’s funny. Listening to them play “house,” they have the roles planned out as well. Marcus is the dad, Abi is the mom and since Alivia is the youngest, she’s the baby.
Thankfully this is a stage mos t of us go through and we get over it. I’m not saying that some people aren’t worth looking up to, but I just hope that someday my kids will just be themselves and not like someone else.
Published 9.9.10 Cass Lake Times
By Allan Olson
It seems that one stage that is hardest to get over for many people is that they want to be like someone else rather than just be themselves. Many kids – especially teenagers – want to be “cool” like some of their older peers and lose track of who they really are.
The same can be often be said of kids in the younger days of growing. At our last vacation we had a nephew, Ben, of the ripe old age of 10 camping with us. Since we live a couple hours away and my kids don’t often see him, it was great for him to spend time with us.
But watching him and then watching my oldest son Nikolai, the old age of 7, and another cousin, Mike of the same age, follow the oldest cousin around.
Of course, since Ben was older, the younger two looked up to him and wherever Ben went, they were sure to follow.
When we arrived at our vacation spot, I noticed he was trying to tan like his older sister so he was walking around with no shirt on. Then I spotted my other nephew, Mike who, too, was shirtless. However, the connection didn’t hit then. But, before the end of the day, my son was shirtless.
This no-shirt pattern continued through most of the next day. He told me, “I never wear shirts.”
That’s when the connection hit. He never runs around without a shirt any other time, but since he had two cousins to follow – he wanted to be like them.
It’s funny how early this pattern of wanting to be like someone else starts.
Are we ever content to just be us?
The younger kids often want to mimic those athletes or actors seen on television, but if we look closely at them, do we really want to be like them?
I see this pattern in my younger kids as well. The show “Diego” comes on and my youngest son, Marcus, says “that’s me.” Diego’s sister comes on the screen and he says, “That’s you, Abi,” to his sister.
Of course, at that age it’s funny. Listening to them play “house,” they have the roles planned out as well. Marcus is the dad, Abi is the mom and since Alivia is the youngest, she’s the baby.
Thankfully this is a stage mos t of us go through and we get over it. I’m not saying that some people aren’t worth looking up to, but I just hope that someday my kids will just be themselves and not like someone else.
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