Playing it to the Bust

I think the most interesting aspect of this chapter, is the reference to how young people, children and adolescents, look to define themselves through the use of idealized role models. People see themselves through identities, and often, those identities may be assigned to us by or chosen from how we view our role models.I think it is fascinating that Dennis was able to create a role model for himself, which was created from an amalgam of his mother and the youth leader, Chuck. I also appreciate the fact that Dennis is willing to ‘pay it forward:’ he had a very influential youth leader earlier in his life, and as a result he has pursued a job as a youth leader, in an attempt to inspire young people the same way Chuck inspired him.

Something I can relate to from this section, is the era of de-idealizing our role-models, whether it be our parents or otherwise. I am at a point in my life where I am becoming rapidly disillusioned of the reality of my situation and upbringing, and understanding that the people I once put on a pedestal are actually flawed, imperfect human beings. It is this realization that has pushed me to strive to be better than the people I used to look up to. Their roles in my life were important at the time I needed them, but now it is time for myself to mature, become independent, and move on.

I would like to see the class discuss the concept of disillusion, specifically in the sense that one learns to divide themselves from their role models.