Role Models and Me

Task 1 – My House of Values Process

I had to design and construct a house reflecting my values and beliefs, while showing their importance. I learned that everyone is made up of different values, which are based on our upbringing, culture, religion and life experiences.

I was given a list of values and had to choose ten that were the most important to me, to construct my house. The size of the bricks indicated how much each value was worth, labelled with the important value.

In step 2, I had to place a % to indicate how important each of the values were that I had selected. The percentages in total had to equal 100% which would be my whole house.

I selected three core values from any part of my house to explain them in detail, why each was important to me. I also had to give examples of how these values, impacted the way I lived, my interactions with others and the decisions I make in life with others.

On the left, is my house of values as you can see. Kindness was the largest part of my values and took up 20% of my core values hence why it is the largest space and is placed on the floor and ground of my house. Creativity was worth 15% which was my second highest value while the other eight values made up the other 65% of my house.

KINDNESS- 20%

Kindness, is important to me because I believe that you never know what people are going through. Kindness impacts the way I live and how I interact with people because when someone smiles at me it makes me feel happy. The positivity I feel, I can ‘pay it forward’ and treat others the way that I would like to be treated through kindness. I am drawn to kind people, because they are gentle and giving. Part of the decisions I make come with kindness by choosing to spend my time and effort to make people feel happy and special.

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“It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a life time”

Steve Maraboli

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CREATIVITY- 15%

Being an artist myself, creativity is a big part of my life and passion. I try to be creative in everything I do because that helps me to enjoy things more. Creativity is important to me because I think that being creative is a way to express yourself and that is really important. I am 60% on the right side of my brain and 40% on the left. This shows that I am more intuitive thoughtful and a creative free thinker, while on the left side, verbal, analytical and orderly. The decisions that I make in life are extremely impacted by creativity, especially in school and my own arty business. One example was choosing what Innovat[ED] job I was going to take part in, I was more enticed to the $20 boss creative side of the project than the economical side of the project.

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“Every artist dips his brush in his soul and paints his own nature into his paintings”

Henry Ward Beecher

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PATIENCE- 8%

I believe that everything in life takes time and patience. I feel that because I’m creative and artistic, I spend a lot of extra time on my work at school, which helps me to practice patience. When doing art it also requires a lot of patience and time to produce something that I think is good enough. Patience is important as it is required in everything in life and you must understand that some things take longer than others. Patience impacts the decisions I make, because it takes more time to make a more informed decision, which I must think further about.

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“Have patience all things are difficult before they become easy”

Saadi

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Task 2 – Who are Your Role Models? Process

I started task 2 by learning about what defines a good and healthy role model, and a bad unhealthy role model, while considering if they do/don’t promote healthy beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviour.

In task 2, I was given five questions relating to the topic of healthy and unhealthy role models. The questions included; What behaviours does this person demonstrate to show that they are healthy?, what do they look like?, are they healthy?, how do you know?, what message does this person promote and why is it inspiring and healthy? The questions also included why should younger people look up to this person as a role model? and thinking back to your house of values activity, what values does this person demonstrate?

I lastly had to apply my knowledge of healthy and unhealthy models and choose, one healthy and one unhealthy role model to me or a younger audience. I had to apply both healthy and unhealthy role models to the five different questions relating to if they were healthy or not.

What behaviours does Emma Watson demonstrate to show that she is a healthy role model?

Emma Watson’s kind behaviours show that she is a very healthy role model. Some examples are, how she actively participates in numerous charity endeavours, stays updated to the latest issues around the world from trans rights to woman’s rights to #blacklivematter. She has worked to promote fair trade and organic clothing as an ambassador for Camfed international. She is a deeply thoughtful and analytical person who cares about the world around her (2. cram.com). She is also a very passionate environmentalist, striving to make the world a better place.

What does Emma Watson look like? Is Emma Watson healthy? How do I know?

From Emma Watson’s perspective she explains that as she gets older she has began to accept her body shape. She even said that at one stage of her life she wanted to have that straight-up-and-down model look but had curved hips, but now believes that in the end you have to accept yourself for who you are (3. her.ie). Emma Watson is very healthy as she chooses healthy options that to her are real food, creating a healthy diet called ‘The Emma Watson Diet’ to inspire others (4. rachelattard.com). I know this because, she is somebody that I look up to so I have read lots about her and I found a website about her diet and workout routine.

What message does Emma Watson promote? Why is it inspiring and healthy?

Emma Watson’s main message that she is trying to promote along with her other interests is gender equality. Some lessons that Emma Watson inspires are to be dedicated, follow the truth, have a sense of humour and to love yourself first. For example, if you love yourself first, you should live a happier and better lifestyle (5. lifehack.org)

Why should young people look up to Emma Watson as a role model?

Young people should look up to Emma because she has demonstrated through her successes that hard work pays off when you follow your dreams. Young people should also look up to her for her confidence in her actions and her passion for everything that she does and her care for the world around her.

Thinking back to your house of values activity, what values does this person demonstrate?

Some core values that Emma Watson has demonstrated are; how she is kind and considerate. She always thinks about the outcome of her actions and how they might impact others. Emma also requires meaningful connections to feel her best, and she values close friendships. Emma however is also selfless and caring, and has a very hard time saying no to people, a great healthy role model for me.

What behaviours does Abby Lee Miller demonstrate to show that she is an unhealthy role model?

One example of bad behaviour that Abby has shown that shows how she is an unhealthy model would be how on June, 27th 2016, Abby pleaded guilty to felony bankruptcy fraud. (6. Wikipedia.org) Her famous TV show, dance moms shows her constantly putting the dancers down and comparing each of them, making them dance through injuries, body shaming them and using verbal abuse. She asked one of her dancers; “Why she was crying, I don’t know. Kids should cry when their arm is broken and it’s hanging off or somebody died.”

What does Abby Lee Miller look like? Is Abby Lee healthy? How do I know?

As a dancer I used to watch Abby’s dance shows to learn some new things, although I was disgusted to see the way she treated her dancers. Abby Lee Miller struggles with health issues which started after she was transferred to Long Beach, California, halfway house to complete her sentence for bankruptcy fraud. For some time, doctors couldn’t diagnose the cause of her chronic pain. She has been through, a rare cancer, prison, ten rounds of invasive chemotherapy, spine surgery twice, heartaches and sadness but has survived it all. (7. Hollywoodlife.com) Abby Lee Miller never really looked healthy, but due to her lifestyle she has been able to loose a lot of weight, and is making steady progress with her walking.

What message does Abby Lee Miller promote? Why is it unhealthy?

Abby describes her methods of teaching as direct, tough and informative, preparing her students for a professional dance carrier. But her methods of teaching are unhealthy. She often makes her students cry, or feel like they’re useless. Abby also has been racist to the children on the show. (8. ew.com) She also often chooses costumes, music and choreography which is not appropriate to their age. Abby promotes her dance studio and her reality television shows and successes.

Do you think young people should look up to her as a role model? Why or why not?

I believe that Abby Lee Miller, is a very talented dancer and choreographer so as a dancer, I definitely look up to her for that, and I think that young people should too. However young people should not consider Abby’s methods of teaching as a role model. This is because young people do not need to hear negative feedback, insults or swearing constantly to be good dancers. Positive feedback is a much better way of getting great results and is much more encouraging.

Is everything you hear, read or see in the media true? Discuss.

I think that because it is a reality tv show, viewers are attracted to drama and the producers of the show may be asking her to exaggerate some of her actions. People often believe what they read, see and hear are their first impressions which often don’t change. Although social media also has a way of influencing your brain how they feel and want you to feel. So, I believe that not everything you see, hear or read on the media is real.

REFLECTION

This project was a great way for me to understand my values, purpose and identity. I really enjoyed the creative side of this project, such as building the house and creating this EPortfolio post to be more appealing towards the viewer. This project also taught me that not all celebrities may seem healthy or unhealthy, and that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, as you never know what they are going through. And it also allowed me to further understand my knowledge of role models and if they are healthy or unhealthy. In the future I would love to do this project again with a different role model to understand their characteristics and values more.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. https://www.whattowatch.com/features/emma-watson-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-harry-potter-star
2. https://www.cram.com/essay/Emma-Watson-As-A-Admirable-Person/P372WCX3GZ3W
3. https://www.her.ie/celeb/emma-watson-has-overcome-her-insecurities-and-learned-to-accept-her-body-shape-21526#:~:text=Speaking%20to%20Glamour%20magazine%20Emma,size%206%20and%20a%2010.
4. https://www.rachaelattard.com/emma-watson-diet-workout-routine-actress/
5. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/12-lessons-emma-watson-has-taught-about-success.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Lee_Miller
7. https://hollywoodlife.com/2021/10/20/abby-lee-miller-health-update-learning-to-walk/
8. https://ew.com/tv/dance-moms-abby-lee-miller-apologizes-racist-remarks/