The Best of Role Models

My English teacher has this blog called 'Express Your Opinions!" where, well, the name says it all (see for yourself here). One of the questions thrown at us was "Who are your role models?" When I read the comments that came before me, Parents and Teachers seemed to be the most common answers. Yes it is undeniable that they are role models. However, for me, the biggest role models in my life don't fall under any of those two categories. The people on this earth who are my biggest role models have changed my life indirectly but in a very adversely positive way.

A role model to me is someone who I know inside-out, or at least know quite well. Thus, people like Oprah Winfrey and Bruno Mars, famous people, though are great people, don't qualify as a role model of mine. There is a simple reason behind that. Who knows what they are really like? I've experienced this first hand. I looked up to someone for such a long time just because of the reputation that he had and just because everyone talked good about him all the time, even though I didn't really know him well. Then, one day, I did get to know him, and got to know more and more about him, only to realised that I had been fooled by "The Cover". I'm not saying that a role model needs to be like a best friend who does everything with me and tells me literally every detail there is to know about him. What I'm saying is that a role model must be someone who has been able to convince me that they are admirable inside and out. The whole point of this is so that I truly learn the process behind what we see. There is no hidden conspiracy behind a person. Imagine admiring a great athlete who claims that he trains for 8 hours a day but what you didn't know was that really he's just taking steroids or whatever other drugs and just so happens to be really good at getting away with it. To see someone go from zero to hero with your very own eyes is just most ideal and convincing. This can only mean one thing, my role models are people who I know personally.

I truly do look up to my parents but the thing is, I just can't really compare them to myself well enough. I did not live to see them being my age. Circumstances were and still are different for us. Even though they do inspire me, the inspiration is not the strongest. In order for inspiration to really hit me at its strongest, it needs to be so applicable to me that I am genuinely inspired. In my opinion, the best role models I can have are those who are younger than me or at least the same age.

Every one looks up at all the "tall" adults around but does anyone ever "look down"? I'm sure that we are no stranger to the line of poetry "If you can do it, so can I!" Well, to better illustrate the point I'm about to make with a very extreme example, if my 40-year-old father can earn a million dollars an hour in the year 2011, can I, a teenager, with school and everything, earn a million dollars and hour in the year 2011? Most probably not. Impossible I guess, unless my father gives me his company or something. Maybe yes in the future, but who knows what the circumstances of our world will be like in 2050 when I'm 45 or even in 2012. However, if my classmate can get full marks on last week's Biology chapter test, can I get full marks on next week's Biology chapter test? If my younger brother is able cook dinner for the whole family one night, might I be able to cook dinner for the whole family the next?

I used to think that there was absolutely no way a Junior High student could win science fairs. In Indonesia, this was one industry conquered by the Senior Highs. Then, I had just terminated my science project and deemed it hopeless when two classmates, Becky and Owen, called to tell me that they won the national science fair and have been chosen to represent Indonesia in the international competition in Brazil! If Becky and Owen had never earned that ticket to Brazil (even though they didn't place in competition in Brazil), I wouldn't have even won the science fair the following year, let alone earned my ticket to Houston. They really have become role models in my life. Furthermore, they had the heart to help me with my project. They shared with me what they had learnt from their experience, allowing me to learn from their mistakes and repeat their right-doings. They were able to make me better than themselves. They lead me to a Bronze medal. In turn, they have really become my heroes.

I find much inspiration from my peers and from my Juniors. It amazes me sometimes to see a kid years younger than me obtain such amazing achievements. Whenever I do, I begin to ask myself "What was I doing when I was his age?"

I take the effort to tell all my role models how they affect me. I feel that they deserve to and need to know for their better. You don't have to look far and wide or up and high to find your role models. They may not even be the best ones. Heroes are all round us, and sometimes, you just have to look, well, down!

Yudhi Bunjamin [Indonesia]

Preacing What I Practice

I sat in front of the laptop that December night watching the live webcast of the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen. As I watched, I asked myself “What do you think Josh* is doing there?” I lost the writing competition to my best friend, making the difference between experiencing the atmosphere of the talks live on the scene in Copenhagen and having it flat on the laptop. I followed his blog posts on the conference very closely and it was through his writings that I learnt a priceless lesson.

I had flashbacks of the time I wrote my competition entry. Through the research I did, I learnt that I could do more to save the earth. Surely, I turn off the lights when I’m not in the room and I carpool to school. However, being in my youth, creativity and knowledge was my greatest asset. Doing research on climate change and innovating more environmentally-friendly products could not only help me in my quest to save the planet but also the efforts of the rest of the world!

I met up with Josh the following month. It was a good chance to ask him what he had learnt from Copenhagen. Knowing me for the past six years, he knew that I was all crazy about Youth Empowerment. With a hidden intention, he asked me “How old will you be in 2050?” That simple question is the name of a youth movement to combat climate change. The question reminds us that it is us, the youth of the world, and not the older generation that will be alive in 2050 when climate change takes its toll on the earth. He shared with me how huge the campaign was and how it all started with a student who was only 13. After that conversation, I realized something that had never crossed my mind.

Saving the earth, sure it starts from me, the little things I do to save a few watts of electricity and a few drops of fuel. But the question seldom asked it “Once I start, where does it go and where does it end?”

That conversation with Josh answered it all. It all starts with me, continues on with other people and it will never end. It’s about doing the little things that save the environment and inspiring others to do the same. They say that there are so many things that you can do to save the earth, but really, unless you invent some magical carbon-absorbing sponge or something like that, there are only so-many measures you can take. However, are you ever limited to the number of people you can motivate to do what you do? All it takes is to pass the message around that together, as a family of 5 billion people, in fact, 30 million species, do the little things that make a difference, like people are afraid of death because they want to live longer, there will be more generations to come.

You live your life to the fullest only if you make the world a better place. When we say “Saving the earth starts from me,” it means more than just the things we do ourselves. It refers to inspiring others to do the same, to have one common goal. It’s all about preaching what you practice and changing the world.

Yudhi Bunjamin [Indonesia]

*Names have been changed to maintain privacy