Being a vertically impaired person, I look up to people all the time. Most of the time it's so I can actually see them, but sometimes it's as an example. Since that is basically every day of my life, I have never really thought about who looks up to me.
A lot of people ask me to watch their kids, because I still act like a kid, and will keep them entertained for hours, and parents know that I am responsible enough to keep them safe, and watch out for them. I don't mind usually, because children are generally sweet, and love you unconditionally no matter what you do in your life.
I am a 4-H Mentor at school, and the little girl that I mentor looks up to me, (both figuratively and physically.) She thinks I am the coolest person ever, because she knows that I am just there to make her happy, and she is always really excited when I show up, even when I show up a few minutes late.
She thinks everything about my life is so cool, and for me, it's just school. Kids like to hear about things they can do when they grow up. She wants to ride my roommate's bike, that is a little too big for me, but she wants to show me that she can do anything, so every week, we strategically get her on the bike, and as soon as she gets going, I can barely get her off.
Things like credit cards and debt don't make sense to kids. They understand cash, but when we get ice cream and I have to pay with my credit card, because I am a poor college student that doesn't have actual cash in my wallet, the idea of paying for the item doesn't make sense. The girl I mentor decided that was the reason I don't have a car. It's not the actual reason, but if it makes sense to her, it works for me.
Kids LOVE to tell stories. Seriously, if you let a kid tell you a story, they will try to go on forever. When I go to do my mentoring, or go home for the weekend and walk dogs, I get all kinds of stories from. Apparently to be really fast in life, you have to have cheetah print shoes, and if you can get a shirt and a pair of pants with the same design, you are golden, and no one will ever catch up to you.
Some kids have their lives figured out by the age of 10. One of the kids that lives in my mom's neighborhood told me all about how he is going to go to Harvard, and play on their baseball team, and win lots of trophies, and go on to be a great baseball player in the MLB. I am a junior in college, and I don't even have my life planned out that far.
Kids know what people are worth being around, because they can tell if you are being genuine with them. Adults know when someone is full of it, but we all have this shell that we protect ourselves with, because we know that not everyone is as good as they may appear to be. Kids are willing to give everyone a chance, and want to meet different people.
Being an adult can be hard, especially when you are just starting out, and figuring out what you want to do with your life. Sometimes because life is hard, we tend to focus more on ourselves, and try to block out the world, so we can get ahead of things. Kids have struggles, but they still want to be social, and they try to make friends.
Kids are still curious about the world, and love to ask how things work, or why things are the way they are. Most adults kind of give up on questioning life. We think we have had enough life experience or classes, that we should know enough, so we don't ask more questions. I am guilty of this. Sometimes I do have questions in my classes, but I don't ask, because I don't want to ask a dumb question. Kids don't care if they sound dumb or not, they just want an answer.
The kids that look up to me think I am a genius. I wouldn't call myself that, but they like to think so, so I try my best to answer whatever questions they have. My neighbors granddaughters love to ask me how things work like phones. They want to know why some phones plug in to the wall, and why cell phones don't. I basically know the difference, but it's hard to explain to a six year old, so I did my best, and it was enough for her, so I felt accomplished.
I think people can benefit from discovering the world by asking questions. The world can be a mystery if we let it, and then it becomes something for us to solve. As a very fun kid from one of my favorite movies said "Adventure's out there," and if that means having to use my imagination to get there, I say bring it on.
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