Don't Be A Copy Cat

One thing I really want to teach my kids is, be original, explore your creativity, have your own ideas...and for godsake don't be a copy cat! From time to time, we come across someone's great idea and want to use it, and that's ok, as long as credit is given. But one thing that is never ok is plagiarism. You should never present someone else's words or revision of their words as your own. I recently went to read a new blog that was brought to my attention, and what I found was a header identical to mine. It was as if they took my header and filled in the blanks to suit them. Mom of _______, trying to be the best ________. These are the chronicles of my ____________.

I've never given plagiarism a good thought. Somethings we just never think about until they hit close to home. Recently I've been hearing the arguments related to the Obama photo that then became that wonderful piece of artwork we are all so familiar with. The artist used the photo off the internet but never gave the original artist/photographer credit or asked permission to use the photo. At first I thought, well it's not that guys photo anymore, it's been morphed into somthing else original. But I get it now, the originality and creation came from the initial artist, the photographer who first captured it. It's shocking to come across somthing that is so definitely yours and presented as someone else's.