During our life we learn how to get on with other people how to cope with problems. As individuals we have both positive qualities (virtues) and negative qualities (vices). Some of us are friendly, tolerant, helpful and hard – working. The others are lazy, self – centred, selfish and intolerant. We are influenced by our parents, teachers, friends, schoolmates, celbrities and the society in which we live.

Our parents were our first role models. They brought us up and taught us to be polite and friendly. We were taught to greet and respect people and help those who may
need our help. Family is extremly important for shaping our personal qualities, here we learn about the world and make first contacts with other people. If a child is loved, he or she will love, if he is hit, he will hit.

Later, when we started going to school, we became a partof society. We learned to be tolerant, patient and self – disciplined, but also hard – working. These qualities are necessary if we want to be suuccessful. At school, we learned how to share our ideas with others. For some of us, our teachers became our role models.

The teenage years are the most omportant period in the divelopment of your personalities. Teenagers look for role models outside their family or school. They look for
idols – people they can admire and follow. Because teenafers love music, movies or sport, they might choose people like pop singers, movie stars and famous
sportsmen. The teenagers try to follow their idols in everything – in clothing, hairstyles and lifestyles. So the influence of these people in enormous and it has become a big business. Some celebrities are drug and alcohol addicted, their behavioor is eccentrin and wild, they don´t respect people around them and they think they are better than others. Some young people follow in their footsteps, falling into addiction, alcoholism and partying.

On the other hand, there are some famous people who are positive role models. They organise live perfomances and mega concerts to raise money for charities who
work with orphaned children, starving people or those suffering from terrible diseases, like AIDS. Many singers have helped to promote a new vision of the world – a vision based on peace and love.

Good role models can be found in literary works, too in stories and novels. Most literary heroes are people with high moral standarts.

Then there are everyday heroes – lifequards, soldiers, firefighters, people who are brave and they risk their lives to help the victims of natural and man – made disartes, such as earthquakes, floods and war.