Living Profoundly
The world is constantly changing. Though we think we're always progressing, even the most advanced societies in history have ultimately failed to get ahead of a new trend or two . For example, in the Western world, many people believed that slavery was long dead and buried. But then it reemerged when dark-skinned people were considered too unclean for polite society and were forced into manual labor. This means that our great grandfathers thought they had things figured out until they had passed away and their grandkids said "boo. No, not that way."
Nowadays, we're confronted with the next wave of who-knows-what. A new medicine that stopped one set of diseases in its tracks has been discovered to cause another set. A cure for a serious infection has been found to make people more susceptible to a deadly disease. A way to stop cancer cells from spreading in the body has led to the creation of cancers. And we are starting to understand why climate change is happening and what we can do about it.
You may be wondering, "What does this have to do with art?" Well, here's the thing: There are healthy artistic trends and unhealthy ones. Whichever one you create will be part of one or the other. Whatever art you make is not just a single thing, but a reflection of your life and times. It's a snapshot of where you are in the world and what you've seen and done. It's one contribution to culture .
What I want to talk about today is how we learn from the lessons of history to decide how we live in our present moment. We can learn from past creators without knowing exactly what their lives were like. This process is quite personal, so I'll spare you the details and just tell you about my chosen role models. They're three women: Audrey Hepburn, Rosa Parks, and Zaha Hadid. I'll also tell you how you can find your own role models and learn from them for your own life too.
Audrey Hepburn, who died in 1993, was widely considered an international sex symbol. As an actress, she played a broad range of roles at different stages of their lives. She was grateful for each one, but the one she didn't want to repeat was the part she played in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," which had been her breakout movie success.
She decided that if she didn't like the character, then she would be angry that "she [had] become a caricature of herself." The image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly is still popular today because it represents modern sophistication and innocence. She didn't want to be a stereotype of a young girl.
Audrey Hepburn changed her life and the way she saw herself. She decided that she didn't want to repeat her past. Though she did find a few roles that she felt proud of, like "The Nun's Story" and "Funny Face," she mostly worked for much smaller paychecks for movies like "The Blue Bird" (a story about an old grandmother who wants to become young again) and "A Matter of Time" (a tale about a lady whose infertility could only be solved by a visit from Santa Claus). She was truly a trailblazer, who invented a new way for women to be successful.
Audrey Hepburn's involvement in the civil rights movement is widely known. In 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a bus to white people. The event was one of the first major civil disobedience campaigns of the American Civil Rights Movement. She said that she would not give an inch; if people were going to have segregation, then Audrey Hepburn was ready to stand up against it forever. Unsurprisingly, they released her without charges and she continued to speak out against injustice wherever she went (she even won an award from Amnesty International).
Audrey Hepburn was a trailblazer for women. When she refused to give up her seat on the bus, several other women in the United States took it as an inspiration to do the same. After this event, a number of African American women refused to get up from their seats in public places and started Rosa Parks' famous act of defiance. But Audrey Hepburn was not the only trailblazer: Rosa Parks died eight years before Audrey's death, but still helped establish both as role models.
I could go on with many more facts about Audrey Hepburn because she is one of my heroes. I'm currently trying to collect all that I know about her and will write more articles with it soon.
Rosa Parks, the first woman to refuse to give up her seat on a public bus (source).
Rosa Parks was a trailblazer for women too. She was the first woman to refuse to give up her seat in 1955 and inspired several other women in the United States to do the same . But she said something that shows how much she respects Audrey Hepburn's work: "I just wished that I could have done that." Though I don't know enough about Rosa Parks' personal life, she seems very happy with all of the impact she had on history.
Zaha Hadid, not one of these women (source).
Zaha Hadid is another trailblazer. She was the first Muslim woman (and second woman of any religion) to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize . She was also the first female recipient of the RIBA Gold Medal . She is an advocate for gender equality within architecture, saying that she wants "to see a women president of a large architectural practice."
Rosa Parks and Zaha Hadid have something in common: they have both spoken out against inequality against women, underrepresented minorities, and other disadvantaged groups. They are both strong proponents of equality and justice. What is it about these trailblazers that makes them so inspiring? I believe it's because they didn't know what they were doing at first , but worked hard to find out.
Rosa Parks wanted to be a lawyer and Zaha Hadid wanted to be an architect, but they had no idea how to do so at that point. But these women didn't give up, and learned about their new goals. They acted in spite of their ignorance, and their actions led them to find out all about what they really wanted. Hooray for learning from mistakes!
Audrey Hepburn, Rosa Parks, and Zaha Hadid each have something in common: They are all inspirational role models that I admire. As an artist , there is nothing I can do without making my own choices . This is why I think it's so important to learn how to live with your values. Every choice you make has consequences that affect everyone who walks under your shadow. You can use this power responsibly, or you can waste it, but either way it's up to you.
A child in a Muslim community (source).
If we are all the only ones who have the ability to make these choices, then why do we rely on politicians and other public figures for their opinions, which do not always reflect our own? If a role model does something silly or plain wrong, then why do we call them out for what they don't know? I believe that we are here to learn from mistakes of others .
Conclusion
I have been writing this article for a while and it's time to work out the conclusion. I believe that what makes a good role model is someone who is willing to learn their mistakes, while whoever they are supposed to be representing is still interested in learning from them. I admire people who learn from those mistakes and speak up when they see an injustice, because the world needs more of that.
Audrey Hepburn said, "Be daring. Be different. Be impractical. Be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace." She knew what she wanted and she knew how to get it . But she also knew how hard it was to get there .