Role Models

We all need role models in our lives. Role models, ideally, must be a person whom some one looks up to. When he looks up to the role model, he is very likely to follow in his footsteps(of course, the role model must be walking in the right direction). There are many role models around me. My father is a role model. He only had secondary education, yet he managed to be the man he is today with a hard work. Nobody had taught him where to go in life. My grandparents were perfectly happy for him to have a low-paying job as long as he could feed himself.

Another example would be my cousin. When she was younger and attended school,her parents didn't know anything about her studies, nor did they engage any tutor for her. They didn't want her to go to university as they could not afford the fees. Thus, she came up with a plan to save money. She set targets and met them. And now, she is a newspaper journalist in New York. She is a perfect role model for me.

I have many other role models. Another cousin of mine, she was offered a job by IBM even before she finished university. Back then, competition was very stiff but she still managed to get the job, and whats more, IBM approached her to give her to job, not the other way.

Of course, the so called role models who lead people in the wrong direction are called bad influences. My youngest brother, who is 7 this year, loved to read when he was in kindergarden, and was very enthusiastic about doing homework. However, my 2nd younger brother, who hates studying and loves to play, influenced him rather badly. Nowadays, he would grumble when he was asked to do homework. When asked to read a book, he stood up every 5minutes.

In life, we have to identify the role models, and keep away from bad influences. If you really want those bad influences to be your friend, then you must not learn the the bad points which he has, which is highly unlikely considering that we are human beings.