“Everybody wants to be a model. Nobody wants to be a role model.” Ever since I read this sentence on Matt Adam´s instagram it has haunted me. We always show (off) ourselves, what we do, what we achieve, what we like, what we don´t. Each one of us is like the model of our own brand. And most interactions are almost just reduced to an exchange of those different “model lives.” But I wonder where have all the real role models gone? The ones where you know there is nothing fake behind, not trying to sell themselves for something they are not, or not constantly trying to “sell” themselves at all, the ones that you can look up to in the sense that they give you some wisdom along the way. Someone who doesn´t just follow but gives you a different view on something without trying to manipulate you. Someone who gives you some answers for life so you don´t have to make all the mistakes on your own. Or maybe we just don´t need anymore those ones, that we feel like we can look up to? Because we all have our opinions, make our own experiences and what we don´t know we look up on the internet. And maybe it is not worth anymore striving for being a role model yourself as values are disposable trends that come and go. Furthermore, there is a thin line between role model and manipulation and some role models are anyhow only injected on you with ulterior motives and for the benefit of something totally different than it appears.
Maybe the constant influence of commercials telling us how special, unique and perfect we are anyway and that we can be anything and anyone and the whole world is just waiting for our special abilities to be seen makes everyone wanting to be a model. No doubt we are all special and unique, but maybe having a few role models again instead of everyone wanting to be a model would also take away a lot of pressure of constantly branding oneself and leave some space and time for a profound progress of our abilites and after all everything else that we are or could be.
