Quotation Is Good, But That's Not You

Honestly, this topic has been in my mind for so long. During my primary up to secondary years, during the debate competitions, public speaking, group presentations, and then college life, micro teaching and like, another 88,000 occasions that I care not to mention. Seriously.

Quotations, quotations and quotations. Generally speaking, the habit of using quotations from other individuals, especially the famous ones, is not wrong. From one point of view, it's actually good. Because it proves that you have been reading. It proves that you are aware of the surroundings. It proves that you are well-prepared for discussing or elaborating whatever topic you have in your hands. In short, I can say that quoting words from anybody you look up to is not even bad at all!

But one thing that I'm worried about, and sometimes pissed off with, is when people tend to rely too much on quotations. It's like in their very own brain, there's nothing more but quotations memorized from their entire lives! At this moment, all that I can say is, what the hell is wrong with you people? Come on, there must be other reasons why God gives you a brain other than memorizing words you heard. Can I name one? It's called 'think'.

Look, not all situations that involve you must be debated, or argued, or discussed seriously, that need you to study and learn about. It's not always necessary for you to search the Wikipedia and 'copy' every single sentence. Because most of the time, the thing that really matters is how you feel. I'm not saying that you should speak based on your feelings, ONLY, and ignore all the facts. That would be wrong. It's just that, don't make everything too formal. Sometimes it's okay to say something stupid, share your feelings, without any literature review, and just go with it. Because at least you know that those words you just said came straight from your heart. Original and registered.

I want to suggest to you that whenever you hear a person keeps and keeps and keeps on quoting words from people every time he or she talks and fights in order to prove who's right, you ask this, "That's MJ (let's say MJ's words were quoted here by that person), but what about you? I want YOUR words." I really want to see how they will respond. Can they produce their own ideas? And this is exactly my point, fellow readers.

If you rely too much on quotations, one day you're going to have problems expressing your own ideas. You're going to struggle, and there'll be no quotations available to help you. Be careful, my friend. Don't let your habit destroy you own creativity. You don't realize it, but sometimes you produce something even better than those people you quoted. But you don't see it because you're too busy looking up to them. Just stop doing that for a while and start believing in yourself.

14 comments:

Lina Khairunisa May 1, 2010 at 3:13 PM  

totally agree with you. :)

Igniz May 1, 2010 at 6:02 PM  

lina: totally thank you. haha. :D

anak pak man May 2, 2010 at 12:35 AM  

i kinda had a feeling u favoured words said by self than others'.. hehe
I didn't know that people actually used quotations in everyday conversations..

Igniz May 2, 2010 at 1:13 AM  

anak pak man: haha. i just prefer people to use original ideas instead of using from others, even though they give them credits. it's not wrong. it's just that, i prefer it that way.

well i see them everyday kat Facebook. even for personal matters. :)

Merissa K. May 3, 2010 at 6:14 AM  

but, sometimes you cant run away from the fact that somebody else could put your thoughts in such symmetrical sentences in a way that you will never be able to.

:)

Igniz May 3, 2010 at 2:12 PM  

merissa k: *sedang merenungkan* :D

MIQA May 10, 2010 at 7:48 PM  

The last one is good one ~

Rabia Sensei May 25, 2010 at 11:17 PM  

Bro, well said!
But in another way, I kinda agree with Merissa. Sometimes, we don't know how to express our thought (nicely, beautifully, sweetly, etc). Forgive us who doesn't have a good way with words. And again, who want to believe to the word of unknown person rather than the words from the famous, well-known persons, isn't it? Hehe..

Now, quotes for you! =D 10 Most Positive and Inspiring Break Up Qoutes

Rabia Sensei May 25, 2010 at 11:24 PM  

Owh, drop by again. (Please don't hate me). I just saw your qoute.

"Living a life is like taking a shit. It smells sometimes, but it makes you happy. - Igniz"

I beg to differ. Shit doesn't smell sometimes, it smell all the time!

Mandi Songsang? Biar Benar!

Igniz May 25, 2010 at 11:32 PM  

rabia: well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. i cannot say you and Merissa are wrong. plus, i never said quoting others' words is wrong. i just said, dont rely too much on it. :)

really? shit smells all the time? well i guess mine doesnt. muahahahaha! XD

the unknown May 27, 2010 at 5:23 AM  

u gotta give em some credit for tryin'.

it aint easy for some people to come up with words of wisdom in an instant.

abu hurairah devoted his entire life quoting rasulullah saw.

plato spent most of his days explaining the quotes made by aristotle.

i think the issue is not reliance. rather to which context the quote is applied. whether it's appropriate or not. whether it can help you to convey the message clearly.

"Look, not all situations that involve you must be debated, or argued, or discussed seriously, that need you to study and learn about."

honestly bro, this is pretty subjective. ive met a cambridge graduate who does it painlessly while having tea. she'd smile and enjoy the exchange, when others squirm for escape.

Igniz May 27, 2010 at 5:48 AM  

unknown: agree with u. but, it's just that i find it boring when you speak and debate with someone over a topic of personal interests or opinions, they come up with someone's else quotations. i want THEIR opinion, not others'. haha. thanks, though. :)

the unknown May 28, 2010 at 12:09 PM  

would it be wrong for a person to convey their opinion through the words of others?

based on my opinion, i could say

"bro, it depends on how u look at it.."

or i could quote a philosopher

"the first key of wisdom, lies in the proper definition of truth ..."

hence, the quote is the vessel, not the captain of the ship. the person is still the captain, he still has his own opinion. only the vessel has changed.

it's true that quotes can give an impression that someone doesnt have an opinion of its own.

however, this could be a false positive as well. he does have his own opinion but he's using the quotes to impart them with more style so to speak. problem is, the quote he's using has been employed too many times.

i think the issue is not whether a person is capable of having his own opinion or not. lol i think u're bored hearin ppl quote the same excerpts time and time again.

Igniz May 28, 2010 at 2:24 PM  

unknown: that's one of the case too. different people have been using the same words, or the same person has been using the same words, again and again. it's boring.

and in one case, i know that person personally that i know he/she has not found confidence in expressing their own ideas. and the worst part, sometimes the quotation is out of context. they just quoted it because they remembered it, not that they actually understood it.

but let's get back to the entry, i never said quoting words of others' is wrong. i'm just worried about the future possibilities that might hinder them from being independent when that feature is needed. that's all.

but the part about the captain and the vessel, yeah, that's true. i agree.

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