BY BERİRE GÜNDÜZ CS/III)
berire.gunduz@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
“Who is your role model?” This is a question that you’ll eventually have to face. I don’t know why, but many teachers, employers and interviewers are interested in your answer to this question. It’s possible that you already have a boring answer in mind. Nowadays, “Nikola Tesla” is one of the most popular answers to this question. What I’m aiming to do here is help you find some new and interesting role models to look up to, so that you can be less boring than you are now.
1. The Sun
Imagine a person who literally kills himself slowly, just to be called a star by scientists and 
provide energy to an ecosystem that’s far away from him. Wouldn’t you call that person a hero and consider him a role model? That person is the sun itself. It’s a giant warm ball of mercy and suicidal thoughts, and unlike the moon, it doesn’t steal its light from others; it literally shines itself to death. In addition, the sun never complains about its situation, as far as we know. It keeps rising early in the morning, and hopefully it will keep running out of its energy.
2. Stray Cats and Dogs
They’re modern-day survivors and should be respected by everyone. Living on the streets, feeding on the trash and trying to not to die on cold nights are the daily duties of our little friends. In addition to their everyday struggles, they have to deal with idiotic humans who try to harm them. Yet despite all these struggles, they continue to be furry, lovely little creatures (especially when they’re not very aggressive). So they should also be on your list of role models.
3. Mothers
Do you know who else deserves to be honored and included on the list? All the mothers in the world, of course. But especially my mother, because she reads this column, and I would like her to be proud of me. Just kidding. That wouldn’t be enough to make her proud of me.
4. Bilkent Buses
Bilkent buses are very kind creatures that, like many other buses, take you wherever you want to go. However, they differ from other buses in their considerate nature. What I mean is that when you’re depressed and drowning in your thoughts, they don’t let you hear your own inner voice, because of the loud noise of their motors. With the help of this considerate act, you can be freed from your depressive thoughts until the end of your journey. So they should be looked up to by all humans, and should never be missed by depressive people.
5. Monsters Under Your Bed
Another group of underrated role models are the monsters under our beds. They’re smart enough to live in our houses without paying any money, and they’re thoughtful enough to never leave us alone while we’re sleeping. There’s nothing we can do to honor them enough. But to at least help them, we can put food and some cash under our bed and send our address to writer of this column, with a key to our house. That will definitely help these potential role models of yours a lot.
6. Clocks
If you’re in search of hard-working role models, clocks are the perfect choice. They have a very simple duty, which is to keep remembering what time it is, and keep updating it until their batteries run out. What qualifies them for this list is that they actually might not even know what they’re doing. They just keep doing what they’re supposed to do, without questioning it, until they literally die. Now imagine if you were to say at a job interview, “My role models are all the clocks around the world, who do what they’re supposed to do without questions or hesitation until they die.” I can assure you that with this answer, you’ll be ahead of your competitors.
Note: Don’t forget to send me your home address and the key to your house to help the monsters under your bed.