What (and who) we’d like to model dictates almost everything we do, whether we realize it or not. In a Christian perspective, this is what convicts us to follow Christ – we want to be like Him, so we live as He would want us to live. Keeping in mind that we live in a secular world, everyone - not only Christians - should be mindful of the things/people that become what we imitate.
Of course, secular imitation isn’t always a bad thing. There are positive, replicable qualities in many popular figures. More often than I’d like, however, I find myself modeling someone more than I display myself. It’s the problem of being yourself and being who God has designed you to be in a world of media representations telling you to be lots of other things.
It’s not really the media’s fault. 98% of the time we blame the media, it’s probably not the media’s fault.
What we need is a proper balance of self-to-role-model. Role models shouldn’t be the contrast to what God wants for us. Instead, they should be the visual representation of qualities that God has designed us, individually, to respect.
And I respect classiness.
No, no. This isn’t a roundabout way for me to justify my admiration for Audrey Hepburn or Dorothy Parker. But these are the women I look at as having some level of classiness that I see as attainable… somewhere in the distant future. That’s allowed, right?
I mean, what girl doesn’t want to be as classy as Audrey? It doesn’t mean I’ll go out and buy the pearls, chop my bangs into near non-existence and adopt a British accent (as much as I’d like to have an excuse to request a “spot of tea” or declare that something is “absolute tosh”). It does mean that I think certain women typify what it means to be a woman – which is classy as heck.
The following women are classy (according to me):
Audrey Hepburn.Reasons Why: was driven, had multiple successful careers, contributed extensively to humanitarian efforts, studied ballet, worked during motherhood, overcame the deaths of two husbands, won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award, was British.
Dorothy Parker.Reasons Why: had incredible wit, noticed urban idiosyncrasies well before it was socially acceptable, married the same man twice, wrote for The New Yorker, lived in a hotel in New York, bequeathed her estate to the Martin Luther King, Jr. foundation, survived 73 years of being a certifiable nutcase.
Alexis Bledel. (Somewhere, my sister is laughing at me)Reasons Why: goes by her middle name, represented one of my childhood favorites – Rory Gilmore, didn’t learn English until she began school, overcame shyness and became an actress, dated a co-star, loves Europe, has a great wardrobe.
Katie Couric.Reasons Why: knew what she wanted, became one of the top dogs in an industry where women weren’t widely accepted, works to keep her husband’s memory alive, is a jack of all trades (marketing, journalism, publicity, acting, etc.), seems to care very little what people think of her, fears nothing.
Reasons Why: is my grandmother, eats pizza with a fork, quilts, has an apartment in Manhattan, owns and plays Wii, watches Glee, wears pearls, has Christmas parties, dresses her dog (sometimes), went on “the bouncy thing” at my graduation party.
wow stevie. wow. looks like you have a lot of classy qualities to add to your resume
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