Role Modeling
03/17/2015
Do you know how much attention you get from wearing a fanny pack? Actually quite a lot. I never in a million years thought my awesome, two dollar, Goodwill find would ever cause people to look at me, but I guess that’s what I get for having a kick butt fanny pack! Although I’d love to tell you more about this amazing find, that’s not the point of this post. Nope, the point is that this 1990’s treasure caused me to realize something I was doing without even knowing it.
As I’m leading a group of ten sixth grade girls around campus, one pointed to my fanny pack and asked why I was wearing it. To which I replied to keep my Poptart close to me in case I get hungry, because I only ate one of them. They thought it was the coolest thing, ice breaker! So as I toted these little girls around they’d ask me questions like if I like it here at IUE, and where I got my earnings. They always walked up front with me, and even sped walk to catch up with me! I had my own little group of girls looking up to me, and it was honestly cute. However it made me realize something, soon these girls were talking about where to get their own fanny pack and buying red converse to match mine. “What had I done!”, I thought. I’d created little monsters!
No, that was not true. These girls weren’t becoming mini Morgans (thank goodness! We only need one in the world), no, they were looking up to me. That’s when it hit me, I was a role model whether I liked it or not.
In high school I knew I was a role model; being a cheerleader I knew little girls watched me and one day hoped to be like me. It scared me to think these girls wanted to be like me, but I knew I had to present myself well to be a great role model for them; since my cheerleader friends weren’t the nicest or brightest of girls someone had to step up. That’s when I started cheering for some girl in the stands. I can’t tell you her name because I made her up! She was like my little voice in my head that reminded me that she was always watching so I needed to behave. I didn’t want to see little girls behaving badly because I was, no that was not going to happen!
So for four years I cheered with a little girl in the stands, constantly acting in a well-behaved manner. After I graduated I lost track of this little girl, and found myself lost. It wasn’t until I started getting involved here on campus that I soon remembered my role model ways, although there were a couple of bumps in the road. I remembered this little girl in the stands constantly watching me, and I started performing for her again. Then one day a friend asked me who I performed for, and I said this make-believe girl. To which they replied why not for yourself? That’s when it hit me, I needed to be myself and still be a role model.
So as I returned these girls to the Den for lunch, still wearing my fanny pack and exhausted because they’re sixth graders, I couldn’t help but smile. I realized that my fanny pack was different, like me, and these girls realized it too. I was setting a good example of being myself, although maybe not fashionably. These girls will probably never remember me, but I hope they take away one thing; to be their selves, find a great role model, and invest in a good fanny pack.
