In life, there can be moments where things don’t go your way, you don’t feel like you’re on the right path or you just need help. During those moments, I am incredibly thankful for the role models I have.
My biggest role model would have to be my mother. Starting from having my older brother at a very young age, she has strived for excellence all throughout her life and sacrificed so much in order to help me be successful. This has allowed me to truly see the bigger picture at times when I can be a bit selfish and has taught me to have ambition.
This ambition has translated greatly into my college career in particular. It inspired me to get more involved as well as try to be the very best I can be in everything I do. I do all of this in order to make sure that everything my mom has done for me hasn’t been in vain and so she can look at the things that I’m doing and be proud.
My father has also been a huge role model in my life as he has always had me as a huge priority in his life. This means that no matter what I do or how well I do it, he has always been a consistent supporter of me. Whether it’s me being horrible at basketball and never playing again or getting a job as an orientation leader, he knows I’m trying my best through the good and bad times. Even though I may not be able to see him as much as I like sometimes, I try my hardest to be a point of pride in his life as well.
There are too many other role models in my life to name, so I will just say how they have affected me in general. In my time at Keene State, I’ve had the privilege to meet many great people who taught me how to conduct myself. They offered guidance through difficult points in my life and showed me that those are just speedbumps to overcome.
They may not necessarily know how much they have affected me, but they have taught me that college is what you make of it. You can either sit in your room and just not do much of anything or you can take every opportunity that’s given to you.
I chose the latter and it has matured me greatly to a level where I truly feel comfortable in my own skin. Through this guidance, I became more outgoing, confident and goal-driven. Being more goal-driven allowed me to see what all the people around me are doing well and set long-term goals to get myself to a similar level as them.
With these goals, I learned that there will be plenty of times where you’re at a crossroads in life, but those struggles are what makes greatness. Nobody is born naturally great; it takes ambition that leads to some failures. These failures lead to you take a look at yourself to see what you did wrong so you can grow from them. This cycle then leads you to the point where your failure isn’t scary, it’s a way of knowing that you’re growing.
In conclusion, I think everybody should have at least one or two people that they truly look up to because nobody is born knowing everything. Everybody needs a little bit of guidance and, once you know where you’re going, the only person capable of stopping you is yourself.
DISCLAIMER: This article is the sole opinion of Cristian Valentin
Cristian Valentin can be contacted at
cvalentin@kscequinox.com
