Creative Copycat
In seventh grade the big thing was to have a set of Milky Gel pens from Pentel. These pens, which are now on sale on eBay labeled “vintage”, were pastel colors and wrote really well, especially on dark paper. (You know, because in seventh grade you are so often handed assignments printed on dark paper and requiring special pens.)
The other thing they wrote on well was human skin. At some point one of my classmates discovered this fact and drew themselves a little handscape tattoo, one that covered the entire back of the non-dominant hand. Soon everyone who was lucky enough to own a set of these pens (or had a generous friend with the pens) was walking around school with little designs drawn on the back of their hands, sometimes trailing up the forearm. It was an epidemic of little pastel tattoos that washed off each night and reappeared during the next school day.
I do not recall how I got my hands on these pens. I may have begged for them for Christmas, or perhaps I rode my bike down to the pharmacy in Clinton and bought my own pens, probably with money that I “borrowed” from my sister. But somehow I got the pens; the back of my hand was covered in pastel doodles and I thought it was just the coolest idea I had ever stolen from a bunch of other kids.
In fifth grade it was a Tamagotchi that I just had to have. In high school it was a Jansport backpack that I really wanted to match so many of my classmates. Also an iPod. And a cell phone. While I avoided succumbing to certain trends (such as the Furby and Beanie Babies), others were just too appealing and I hopped right on board.
It would be nice to say I got over this as a got older, but I absolutely did not. These days, especially with all of the content daily on TikTok and the other socials, it is hard to avoid the temptation to try out at least some of the so called “viral” trends. (The term is thrown around so liberally now that I automatically question anything deemed viral, unless one is referring to an illness of some kind.) So far I have made one and three quarters temperature blankets, an idea I stole off social media. When my vacuum broke I ordered the “viral” one off of the TikTok shop (which, thankfully, has turned out to be a fantastic vacuum). I’ve used the face masks that supposedly soak collagen into your skin and leave it glassy looking and very soft. And part of me really wants to order makeup that looks super simple and quick to apply; the other part of me recognizes that will likely be money wasted as I consistently buy makeup, use it twice, and then let it rot for years while I go about naked-faced. It doesn’t matter how simple or quick the makeup routine is; I’m not likely to do it no matter what.
My current favorite trend is one that I stole from my cousins. I’m not even sure if you could technically call it a trend, but I assume so because A) my cousins are younger than me, 2) they are cooler than me, and D) I have seen other people doing the same thing. The thing of which I speak is decorating one’s reusable water bottle with those vinyl stickers that are all over the place if you know where to look, usually next to the register.
I’ve seen people with stickers on their laptops for years; I think I first noticed that when I was in grad school. But my laptops were always either too crappy to waste a sticker on or they didn’t belong to me, but were provided by my office. Water bottles, though, make way more sense as a place to display one’s stickers of choice. I carry my water bottle with me everywhere, so putting little vinyl statements of my personality on this object makes sense to me. It’s like, “hello, nice to meet you, if you want to know more about me quite quickly please read my water bottle.”
At present I have nine stickers on my water bottle, plus more stickers stockpiled for when I inevitably have to get a new water bottle when this one wears out. The current stickers include:
two related to coffee: one says “NEED COFFEE” and the other is just an image of a plastic cup of cold brew
one tangentially related to my mental health: it says, “Hold on, let me overthink this.” It’s a little joke, but also not a joke because if left untreated I would ruminate on thoughts forever and ever until going insane. For me this sticker serves as a reminder of how I’ve been and how I’m doing now.
two are souvenirs from vacations: one says “Seas The Day” over a graphic of waves; I bought it when vacationing in the Outer Banks. The other has a puffin on it and says, “Rockland Maine”. These two stickers are, I feel, the modern equivalent of stickers on a piece of luggage, showing where I’ve been and what I’ve seen on my travels.
two are rather random: one is a mushroom with a little door at the bottom of the stalk; it makes me think of Alice in Wonderland and other such fanciful things. The other is a mountain range reflected in a lake with Sasquatch walking along the water’s edge; this one reminds me of traveling in the Pacific Northwest with my family, especially my uncle as he has, I believe, both Sasquatch socks and a t-shirt.
one sticker is my personality in a nutshell: it is a golden badger with “Hufflepuff” written across it’s flank. Underneath the animal it says “Dedication, Patience, Loyalty”, three traits of the members of Hufflepuff house in the Harry Potter series. I am, without question, a Hufflepuff and proud of it. I have a sweatshirt too, but this sticker was an important addition to the water bottle.
one that makes me laugh but I’m also serious though: this sticker, which I have seen a few times on cars and other places, says “Tell your cat I said pspsps.” This is hilarious to me, but also, quite sincerely, if you have a cat I would like you to tell them that I say hi.
There is still a little room on my current water bottle for more stickers, and I just ordered a new water bottle so that I can always have one to use while the other one is being washed. I very much look forward to adorning the new bottle with the stickers I already have; I am also excited to shop for more stickers whenever I can.
Of all the trends I’ve participated in over the course of my nearly 38 years, this one is probably my favorite. Generally when I hop on board a trend I feel a little down on myself for being so basic and copying a huge group of people by doing what is popular. As with the Milky gel pens and the temperature blankets, the stickers are an example of me following the crowd, BUT in those situations the trends allowed for more creativity. Yes, I drew on my hands just like everyone else, but what I drew was entirely of my own making. It was my decision which doodles I wanted to wear on my hand each day, no one told me what to draw. I took the idea of the temperature blankets from online, but I made/am making them with my own twist. Likewise, no one is dictating what stickers I choose to put on my water bottles. I buy the ones that I like from the places that I’ve been; the ones that make me laugh or represent something I really love.
It’s a small technicality, but holding on to my creativity amid the madding crowd is important to me, making me feel like I’m holding on to my independence while being a self-confessed copycat.
If you too are a copycat, or if you know one, tell them I said pspsps.
