Relationships  Discussion Forum

I' m posting this as a new thread just in case people did not go into the previous one.

A role model could be somebody whom you look up to..can be a famous personality or a family member or friend. Anybody that has some quality that you admire and try to emulate.

The reason I picked this up is because a role model is a reflection of who we aspire to be..who we choose to emulate in our day to day life.

If we reach an impasse' situation, I think of how \" my role model\" would react and then try to go ahead and do it that way...

Some of the people I personally admire are -

(1) Swami Vivekanand - for his clarity of thought and expression, for his humanity, for his pride in everything Indian, for his confidence, intellect and inspirational words.

When living abroad in a culture that is as different as chalk and cheese with Indian culture, it gets even more imperative that you do not forget your roots. I meet some desis here in the US who are happy to teach their kids spanish but hesitate to talk to them in their mother tongue.

I love wearing indian clothes like salwar kameez but was hesitant to wear it in the beginning in my office that had 90 goras. I was so eager to blend in with the crowd that the thought of standing out and answering people' s questions about my dress etc, made me feel very shy about doing it. My fear of appearing different from everybody else in the office was the main show stopper. Then I thought about Swami Vivekananda..if he was not embarrassed to wear Indian clothes in Chicago a hundred years back and was proud of it, what was stopping me?

It is in things Indian that he inspires me.

PS: I started wearing salwar kameez regularly after that to office and got so many compliments..*amazing response* Got a chance to share my culture with the Americans and answer their hazaar questions on dress, bindi *what' s that mark on yr forehead*...now I make it a point to wear indian dress once a week at least.

(2)Rani Laxmibai - She inspires me to think that having a brave life is more important than having a long life. She teaches me to stand up against injustice and not suffer silently.

In a time when it was unheard of women to take leadership roles, she led an army..she could have led an easy life by giving in to the British, but she chose to be free and chose to rise up against injustice and subjugation. Her indomitable spirit and never say die attitude is an inspiration for all women.

I like her attitude of standing up for what she believed in. Her bravery in going to battle with a sword in each hand (leaving her son and family behind) knowing that she was going to die...Amazing woman!

If I could do time travel, I would definitely want to go to her time and see her in action.

:)

I could go on, but I' ll wait for your replies now...

:) Radhika replied. My Mom is the role model i life. I come from a very educational family, and since my childhood, i have seen the \" true life\" . We had to face some problems and that time we were too small to understadn whats going on. But, I could see, the efforts, strength of \" togetherness\" in my parents. They have always taken the right path in life, what may come!

Hats off to you dad-n-mom!