Michael Koon shares about his favorite role model growing up.
Growing up, I didn’t see my dad much, as he would always be working. So, my mother ended up raising me most of the time. I never felt I had a real connection with my father. I felt lonely in a way, seeing how all my friends had their fathers involved in their lives. So, I had rough childhood being bullied, made fun of at school and getting into fights, leading to me fighting back, using violence to get justice. Then one day, I was watching TV, and I saw him, Optimus Prime. The way he spoke stood out to me.
The leader of the Autobots from the Transformers franchise, a wise and kind leader who values all his equals, he is a symbol of courage. He was very wise, yet calming. I was moved by his words. I used what I had learned from Optimus to deal with the school bullies. They would stop picking on me, and some would later become my friends.
Role models, the people that help define who we are when we grow up, they are the people we look up to and admire, whose values we believe in and inspire to be. For me, my role model is Optimus Prime. He became the father figure I needed in life. What made Optimus matter so much to me was how he wasn’t special. He would make mistakes, yet he would keep going. Role models can be real people, or some can be fictional characters or anything really. What’s important is that they inspire us to be better, and that’s what Optimus Prime did.
He inspired me to be bold and treat others with kindness. Above all else, to be strong, but to be gentle. Today, I am currently a senior in high school, getting ready to graduate, and I am taking up leadership roles in my school, working in the wellness center. Optimus was ultimately my light at the end of this dark tunnel, lighting my darkest hour. He helped transform me to be more than meets the eye. With a Perspective, I’m Michael Koon.