Role Models

What would we be without people to look up to? Nearly everything we are is a culmination of all that we have learned from others. Role models come in all different shapes and sizes. They can be parents or celebrities or teachers or strangers or friends or siblings or neighbors or cousins or coaches or characters or grandparents or anything in between. I think the best role models are the ones we don't even realize are influencing us. The ones we find ourselves acting like months later and we're so happy we could become even just that little bit like them.

Of course, throughout our lives we face a lot of bad teachers and coaches and strangers and friends as well. But they're what make the good ones stand out. They're the ones who help us choose who to learn from. I've had a lot of horrible soccer coaches and math teachers and even friends. I've met a lot of strangers with whom I hope I have nothing in common. There are countless celebrities and book characters who have shown me what not to do and how not to act. And we must be grateful for all of them too. It's like the saying that the bad things help us appreciate the good things. I think we too often forget that. Nothing's special without a whole lot surrounding it that isn't special at all. We have to wade through that swamp to get to what's good for us. To get to the people that add up to who we are. 

Life can only be incredibly difficult without good role models. I've been blessed with too many of them which I think is a good problem to have. But there are so many kids and even adults who don't have this privilege. Role models can be found everywhere and I encourage those people to seek them out because they are always found in the most unlikely places. We all dream of being role models but we can only get there by following great role models of our own.