Role Models

A role model is a person who inspires you because of their positive values such as integrity, kindness, hard work, etc. You respect them and want to reflect those values in your life. This way, you improve your life and that of those around you because of this. Role models can be famous or ordinary people in your school or family.  They can be living or dead. Good examples of role models are your parents, teachers, neighbors, Martin Luther King Jnr., Nelson Mandela, Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie, Rafael Nadal, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, etc. 

They are people who we admire for their qualities and are usually older. However, your role models can be your peers too.

Who is your role model and why? Think about and discuss what values they have that inspire you. Role models can do things that let us down. What would you do in that situation? Even if role models disappoint us, we should not abandon our good values. Your values should remain the same despite what others do. For example, R. Kelly is an African-American singer who was a role model for millions across the globe. He was successful in his career and was hardworking. However, he was exposed after hurting so many young 

women and destroying families by his actions. He was arrested and thrown into jail, where he still is. But just because R. Kelly ended up being a bad person, doesn't mean that being hardworking is bad or you should stop working hard. 

It just means you should work hard so you can become successful and use that power to help others, not harm others like R. Kelly did. Even if role models disappoint us, we should only do our best to become better than them in every way. 

We can also serve as role models for others. It is a worthy accomplishment because it means someone admires you for your values and draws inspiration from you. Can you think of those values that would inspire others? And think of those that you might need to work on to become a better role model.