Role models essay

4. ROLE MODELS

Vzory

ROLE-MODEL is a person who inspires others to live because of their character or skills.
Importance of role-models is obvious usually in childhood. Children often copy how their parents behave, how people talk on TV shows. However, some people say they need no role-models, they want to live their own way, and they don’t agree that there is always someone who inspires with lifestyle, character, talent success, faith…
Every person is sometimes influenced by someone. We watch how people behave in different situations and we copy positive but also negative deeds.

FAMILY ROLE MODELS
- vzory v rodine
The first people that show the direction of living are our parents, siblings and other relatives. They are important because: they teach us to have good manners. They help to learn how to solve problems, and how to get on well with other people. From our family members we learn many positive but also negative qualities: we learn to make a compromise, cooperate, help other people, but also to be envious or selfish.

On the first picture, there is a mother who teaches her children to eat fruit, and share the food. She also eats it, and she is good role model to her children, because kids usually don’t like fruit and vegetable
On the second picture there is bad role model. There is the mother who doesn’t care about her daughter’s health. They both drink wine and smoke cigarettes. Unfortunately, it is true that children of smokers usually end as smokers too. What is worse parents usually smoke with their children.

SCHOOL ROLE MODELS – vzory v škole
People usually meet new friends and authority at school. When a child becomes a pupil by entering the school it becomes a part of society, it learns to cooperate with other classmates, to respect others to be tolerant, patient, self-disciplined, and hard-working. These qualities are necessary if a person wants to be successful. Instead of parents there is a teacher who can also form the child’s behaviour.

CELEBRITY ROLE MODELS – vzory medzi známymi osobnosťami
Most teenagers are looking for their role models in show business. Teenagers love music, movies and sport, so singers, film stars and famous sportsmen influence them a lot. They try to imitate them: their clothes, hairstyle, make-up, lifestyle and behaviour.
Celebrities can influence society in a positive way, but also in negative ways.

POSITIVE INFLUENCE – pozitívny vplyv
Some famous people are very talented, working hard and successful. They are thankful very often, and they serve some important moral principles. For example, they work for charity, help poor people build hospitals and adopt children from underdeveloped countries.
On this picture, Jennifer Lopez is visiting her own charity house for poor families. She invests money and helps with education and healthcare. She became a popular positive role model for many people.

NEGATIVE INFLUENCE – negatívny vplyv
Many celebrities are drug and alcohol addicted and they share the motto of enjoying the life. Some celebrities are impolite vulgar and rude. They do not respect people because they think, they are better than others which it isn’t true. They just try to make a profit in all situations.

On this picture is Miley Cyrus. When she was younger every teenage girl loved her because was very popular Disney actress and singer. Almost every young girl wanted to be like her, but when she grown up she became very nasty impolite person.

LITERARY ROLE MODELS
- literárne vzory
Literary heroes are characters from literature stories. Most literary heroes are people with high moral standards and readers can follow their thoughts.
For example, Harry Potter. The magic boy who lost his parents when he was a child and he grew up with his envious aunt, paranoiac uncle, and spoilt cousin. When he found out he is someone really important in the world of magic he didn’t change his attitude and he stayed friendly, kind and helpful and he also helped people who hated him. He was always ready to redeem for his friends and save the magical world from the black mage Voldemort.

EVERYDAY HEROES – hrdinovia všedného dňa
Lifeguards, fire-fighters, doctors, soldiers, missionaries and other brave people who don’t hesitate to risk their life and help the victims of natural and human-
made disasters like fire, floods, droughts or war, car crashes and other catastrophes. They have courage high moral standards, and their life is like a mission. On this picture for example, there are firemen who are trying to stop the fire on someone’s rooftop. It is really dangerous work.

Why is it important to have a role model? – Prečo je dôležité mať vzor?
It´s very important especially for young people to have role models, while achieving qualities that they use later in their lives. If there are positive role models, people learn how to be polite, tolerant and helpful. They can make the world a better place.
On the other hand, if young people are influenced by negative role models, they become rude, selfish, stubborn and there will always be crime and illegal actions.

Choose features of your personality:
POSITIVE – Virtues – pozitívne znaky osobosti
Reliable. Grateful. Regardful. Optimistic. Brave. Understanding. Responsible. Fair. Trust-worthy. Loyal. Warm-hearted. Helpful. Honest. Polite. Kind. To have a sense of humour. Friendly. Sociable. Hospitable. Generous. Hard-working. Practical. Sensible. Talkative.
NEGATIVE – Vices – negatívne znaky osobnosti
Be deceitful. Mean. Cheeky. Envious. Envy. To be fond of gossip. Hypocrite. Stubborn. Suspicious. Quarrelsome. Greedy. Coward. Selfish. Jealous. Rude. Treacherous.

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL? – Kto je váš vzor?
Who? Why? Some info about him or her, his or her positive and negative character features.

For example, this is Mother Teresa who got the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1972. She cared for poor people and she did it for free. She never cared if the person was healthy or not, or which ethnic the person belongs to. She looked after everyone with love.