Shawn Mende

UWRT 1102
5/21/14
Influence
For me, Influence has never been from a single person. It has been from multiple people
and characters I have been fortunate enough to meet, see, or listen to along the course of my
life. For myself though the some of the most influencing characters I have meet in my life are
actually not real, they are a cast or fictional characters from a famous television series most
commonly known by Dragon Ball Z.
To explain briefly the television series has 3 sequels starting from Dragon Ball, then
Dragon Ball Z, and finally Dragon Ball GT. The main character being Goku is a cheerful and
energetic young adult with a heart for sport fighting. He also possesses the ability to see past
others misfortunes or wrong doings to see the good in them, even if they cant see it in them
self. More than that Goku has a strong sense of loyalty and morality towards his friends but is
also very blunt and not afraid to speak his opinion, even if it wasnt the popular opinion. For me
he was truly an exceptional role model because growing up I never found anyone with that
ideology besides Goku and eventually myself.
He inspired me to do and achieve many great things in my mind, it also lead to me
becoming an individual, doing what I think is right rather than just doing the popular thing
whether it was right or wrong, and become an inspiration along with being a role model as well
to others. The life lessons that I learned when I was young, my strong moral and ethical
thinking, knowing the difference between good and bad at such an early age put me years
above others at my age, but at the consequence made me a target for bullying and ridicule
from my class mates due to me standing out a lot. But it was worth it, I was driven by my goals
and I stopped caring what others think of me because in the end it didnt matter what anyone
else thought about me except what I thought about myself. In the end I made better life
choices thanks to the influences of my role models.
One of my accomplishments by influencing others was when I was an assistant coach for
my former middle school wrestling team during my high school career. Not only was I able to
coach and teach these kids how to wrestle but I was able to teach them about good
sportsmanship, honor, respect, and dedication. It was outstanding to see the transformation of
these kids in front of my eyes over the period of the wrestling season. Some of them previously
didnt even get along and before the season was over the entire team was one big family. Not
just during wrestling but in the school halls, class rooms, and in their grades as well. It was one
of my great accomplishments in doing that, to reach out and change their life for the better.
In the end I personally think it all was worth it. Even though I was brought hardship by
my peers sometimes because I didnt do the popular thing, I just did what was right following
the influence of my role models. What I gained was much more though, a deep respect from
many of my peers, a few lifelong friends, and a great outlook on life that many can barely see. If
I was not influenced how I was, I would never have become the man I am today because of it.