Role models. We all have one. We all have that one person who plays a large role in our lives, sometimes without even knowing it. That person who is flawless even when they’re not. For some people, it is their mother or their father that hold up the fort in a storm. For others, it is a celebrity’s music that got them through high school. A few may even see Jesus or Mohammad or another religious figure as a role model. We all want to be the best that we can be. It’s just that the “best” is different for everyone.

As for me, I never really had one person that I looked up to. I had a lot of role models growing up because I never looked at the whole person. I only looked at a certain quality from many people. I did this partly because I’m a perfectionist. My life was like using oil pastels and trying to find the right shade. I was never happy with myself, so I would always try to be better. Knowing that no human being was perfect, I wanted to adopt the trait from everyone I met that I was most envious of. I wanted to be a music prodigy. I wanted to graduate at the top of my class. I wanted to be creative. I wanted to be the next John Green. I wanted to cure genetic diseases (well, I still do). I know I’m not the only one in the world who thinks like this, but I know I’m in the minority when I truly believe that people like Kim Kardashian or Donald Trump would make great role models.

I don’t care who you are. You can learn something from everyone you meet, and what you learn from them can make them worth looking up to. It’s all about your perspective and how you choose to look at a situation. For example, Kim Kardashian is known for leaking her nude photos onto social media, making a lot of people across America lose even more respect for her. I didn’t though. I wish that I was confident enough about my own body to show it off. That being said, I would never pose nude for a picture, but I would like to wear a bikini and not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about it.

Another unfavorable celebrity is Donald Trump. His name itself sparks outrage. He’s the man who caused many cartoon elephants to wear toupees and who supposedly hates everyone but himself. No one could possibly see him as a role model, right? Like I said, there is something to learn from everyone. Yeah sure, you might not agree with anything he says about illegal immigration or his business deals, but you have to agree on one thing. This man has been under fire for a long time, and yet he’s still standing. You have to have pretty thick skin to say politically incorrect things in a politically correct society. He has the strength to stand his ground, and that is what I admire him for. Of course, you may choose not to see him that way, and that’s OK, too.

Although there are many people that others think are incapable of being a good role model, there are even more bad role models that are perceived as good. Take Mike Vick, for example. He played football at Virginia Tech and got into the NFL as a sophomore. He was quickly drafted by the Atlanta Falcons and became the first African-American quarterback to be picked first. Sounds like a good role model, right? He worked very hard, and it paid off. Anyone striving for a career in sports, especially African-American, would have looked up to someone with those accomplishments. However, in April of 2007, Vick was arrested for operating a dog fighting ring and spent 21 months in prison. This severely damaged his reputation, and the Falcons didn’t take him back. Since then, he has gradually repaired his image, even winning the 2010 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. Yeah, at least he did that, but imagine how many children couldn’t look up to him anymore because he abused animals. Now imagine the others who chose to ignore his scandals and leave a poster of him on their wall.

I think everyone is capable of being a good role model. If we pay attention to the people around us, we can learn how to be better and stronger people. However, don’t make the mistake of ruling out a person’s existence because it’s what everyone else thinks. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks. You have your own pedestal. Be the director in your own life and choose who you want to take the stage and the spotlight. Whether it be Barack Obama, a homeless veteran or your favorite teacher, learn what you can from everyone you know.