Role Models

The topic of role models came up today & I think of all the people in the headlines today who kids look up to. Honestly it makes me really sad. People like Jennifer Lopez and Julia Roberts and Brangelina ... these "pretty people" ... do they really warrant the title of "role model"? I'm not saying that they aren't good, respectable people. I'm not implying that they don't do good deeds. I certainly think that Brad & Angelina could do a lot more good if they used their wealth to start an organization to assist average & low income families adopt children rather than try to adopt all these kids themselves. But I digress.

I started thinking about the kinds of people, the kinds of women I want Aine to look to as role models. My grandmothers, for instance. My maternal grandmother was the youngest of 4. She grew up in Chicago. My great-grandfather was a painter (John Adams Spelman) and the family didn't have a lot of money. Still she went to Beloit College. Writing this I realize that I know less about my grandmother than I realized. I don't know if she has a Masters or not. I think that she does. In any event, she became a librarian and worked her way up to librarian (I think she was a Head Librarian) at the Kalamazoo Public Library. My paternal grandmother also went to college, though she choose to be a stay-at-home mom after marrying my grandfather.

I look at contemporary women like Hillary Clinton (who I don't always agree with but whom I can respect), Christiane Amanpour, Maya Angelou, Jane Goodall, there are so many I cannot think of as I sitting here writing this that it actually makes me sad. My mind jumps to all the standard Hollywood types, that while good at the jobs of letting us escape in entertainment for those few short hours, aren't exactly changing the world.

I may need to think about this. One think I know for certain, I want my daughter to be strong and independent. I want her to walk with confidence and THINK with confidence. I want her to believe in herself and others. I want her to have respect for her ideas as well as the ideas of others. I want her to always remember that while you don't have to agree with someone, but you should always be respectful in that disagreement ... even if they aren't. I want her to always remember that I believe in her, even if she can't or won't. I want her to know that it is ok to fail as long as you tried your best. At the end of the day, it isn't about how you look or what you wear or what kind of car you have. Things are things. They don't make you a good person.

And I definitely hope my daughter never ever thinks a porn star is a good role model. Sheesh!