By Joan Mbabazi

I admire Oprah Winfrey a lot; the troubles she faced to get to where she is now—it was hard work and sacrifice. Regardless of her troubles as a child, like being raised by a single mother, getting pregnant at the age of 14 and losing her baby at a tender age, she rose to massive success. You cannot talk about success and not mention her. She is one of the richest women in the world. Just the mere thought of her journey makes me leave my comfort zone.

I’m sure we all have someone we look up to, or aspire to be like—something about them that inspires you to work hard. Such people make us view life differently, and for some reason, give us hope that if we are persistent, we can reach so far.

Role models are extremely important as they guide us through life during our growth, to make important choices that will yield great results. A role model is a person whose behaviour, for example, or success, is or can be emulated by others, especially the youth.

If you only admire someone without learning anything from them, then they are not role models. Look up to someone who has made a great impact in society because they will encourage you to do the same.

Having the right role model will help you learn and thrive. You will find pride and joy in what you’ve accomplished. One time, during a conversation with my cousin who is now 10 years old, I asked her what she wanted to be in the future and who inspire her. She said Rihanna is her role model, and when I asked her why, she said she loves her songs.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with Rihanna, however, children need to be guided when choosing role models; they have to fully understand what it means to be inspired by someone else. They have to look up to someone who inspires them to think, be creative, and so much more.

If your child is talented in sports, for example football, let him read about the successful stories of professional football players, how they started and their challenges.

Does it mean that role models are perfect? No, they actually make mistakes but even when they do, we ought to learn from such slips. This only shows that falling is part of the dance.

Although having a role model means looking up to another person, it does not make you them, it only helps you turn into the best version of yourself.

A good role model should show passion, have the ability to inspire, set values, be loyal to community, show self-sacrifice, accept others, and have the aptitude to overcome hindrances.

It starts with you; model through your own actions, handle frustration, respond to problems, express anger and other feelings, treat other people with respect, avoid competition with people because you have different ambitions and you are running different races, be responsible and take care of yourself.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com