A role model is supposedly someone who other people try to emulate – be it for their success, determination, honesty and behaviour in the business, sports or entertainment fields, and he or she could also be a parent. But does everyone have a role model that they aspire to be like, or do most people just follow their own paths and ideals?
Parents are the role models that young children have as they are central to their world until they go to school. The early years at home are when children should be learning things like manners, respect, honesty, kindness and grit from their parents. Once children go to school there are other influences that could undermine the traits that parents have been instilling in their offspring, whether it be classmates, popular entertainers or things that they see happening around them.
In the past, role models would be well known actors, athletes or people who aspired to helping others but nowadays with social media some people aspire to be like the “faces” on YouTube or the so-called key opinion leaders (KOLs), who are actually “influencers”, not people who are experts in their fields, like scientists and medical personnel, but someone who has a huge number of fans or followers on their social media accounts. These influencers brag about their lifestyles and the money they make turning the heads of the younger generation who think that life should be like that.
If young people choose an influencer as a role model it probably will lead to a shallow and limited outlook on life as only a few will be successful, leaving anyone else aspiring to be successful on social media despondent and rudderless.
A role model does not always have to be an older person, as today’s youth might find them out of touch with society. There are young people that can be amazing role models for the younger generation.
For example, take Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who in October 2012 aged 15 was shot in the head by a Pakistani Taliban gunman when she was on a school bus on her way home.
Yousafzai made a full recovery and has been advocating for education and women’s rights ever since. In 2014 at the age of 17, Yousafzai was announced as the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.
Yousafzai once said, “I don’t want to be remembered as the girl who was shot. I want to be remembered as the girl who stood up.”
Yousafzai stood up for her beliefs despite the ever-present danger.
If your role model is a successful businessperson or athlete or entertainer, hopefully it is someone who has done well and shares their success with others, like philanthropists, those who give back to sport at the grassroots level or who use their fame to promote a positive agenda.
J.K. Rowling, the philanthropist and author of the Harry Potter books, had her manuscript for the first book rejected by 12 publishers before one agreed to take it and make her one of the most successful authors of the 21st century.
Rowling said, “Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.”
Some role models may not be the best people to look up to as they may be the best football or basketball player around but in life are not very nice at all.
Choose your role model with care, just because someone is rich and famous does not necessarily make them a good role model. It might be better to look closer to home for your best role model.
This handout picture taken and released by Chief Minister House Office of Sindh province on Wednesday shows Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai (right) meeting with flood-affected families at a makeshift camp in Johi, Dadu district of Sindh province. – AFP
