EACH ONE of us has a role model. Somewhere at the back of your mind, you have probably resolved to be like somebody somewhere or to look like some beauty in town. The admiration of the targets of our affections and craving for our desires soon become the objects of our fervor and subsequent standard models against which we strive to mould our characters and mannerisms. To a large extent, we are imitations of the environment that we live in.Psychologists underscore the focal role of the environments that we are brought up in determining our intelligence and in shaping our behavior.The people around us and the dominant culture are very critical in influencing the final product of the inner and even the outward person that we become.You can probably remember a number of things that you do differently today because when you stayed with someone or when you moved out of Kigali you slowly but surely adjusted to the norm in your surroundings. As the saying goes, you now do things as the Romans do or as they did.It is always hard to change habits but it is relatively easier to resist temptation to alter your belief systems and way of doing things.Change of behavior often comes so stealthily and imperceptibly that you cannot notice it or feel odd. Even when people point out the strange quirk of actions and even mien in you, it is always easy to bust them as you will not see anything queer with you.I am talking about role models and their sneaky influence in our lives as a whole.To begin with, good role models have helped innumerable individuals to completely alter the course of their life ships and take paths that are morally laudable.In sports, many successful soccer stars can admit having been inspired by former soccer household names like Diego Maradona. In politics, many young politicians today are looking forward to be the next Barack Obama. I do too.On the extreme down side, certain disparaging, vicious and injurious figures are increasingly becoming a great inspiration for a massive generation for attributes that are as treacherous as they are annoying. Issues that defeat logic and all the strands of perception are a great admiration to many great men and women. For teens , the extent of the damage is immeasurable.Can you imagine that the world’s most anorexic (extremely thin) woman is an electrifying inspiration to many young ladies who want to look like her?The 39 years old Valeria Levitina is the world’s thinnest woman whose mother refers to as a "walking corpse”. Bad, some young ladies write to her asking her what they would do to look like her!Though the imagery used to describe Levitina is harsh and uncalled for especially when referring to a living human being, one finds it elusive to find alternative adjectives to describe her looks. She is nothing more than a collection of dry bones and an eye sore. Levitina’s dream was to keep herself on very strict diet and become beautiful and attractive to men only to turn into a mummy of only 25 kilos. What inspires young ladies to look like her is a mystery whose unraveling is beyond the confines of a finite mind.Who is your role model? How do you choose your role model? Think about that. Next week I will be back with a tantalising revelation of ruin of certain role models on schoolgirls.