When I Grow up, I Want to be Just Like Him

"Which part of this map is Indonesia?"

The guy suddenly asked me. He had a Wikipedia map of the world on his screen. We were the only two people still perching on the computer lab at this hour of the evening.

"These parts right here." I showed him.

The map showed the countries traveled by JP II. It was color coded to indicate the number of visits the late Pope paid in each country--JP II had never been to China!. We talked a little bit about all these countries, the guy has a very decent knowledge.

Over the years, I know a little bit about the guy. We followed almost the same path. As international students, both of us have been here forever. We graduated with bachelor's degree and went to get PhD from this department.

The thing with him is that he has this starving artist mentality. Upon graduation, he turned down a well paying job in a respected industry in favor for a lower paying post doc position in the department, in which he has a greater control over a novelty research. Where will he go from here? The possibility is endless.

When I was younger, I never had a role model. These days, everyone is my role model. The guy, for instance, has a lot of qualities to be admired in a person. He's intelligent, smart, a passionate hardworker, a family guy, a religious man, and a mentally balanced person, who is also grateful and humble (or so it seems from the surface) and is not ignorant about life, people, and the world. True, part of these qualities are inherent, but he also works hard to mold himself this direction.

All in all, what a well rounded person. When I grow up, I want to be just like him.