Rujjanavet 1

Peeraya Rujjanavet
6280143
Mr. Leigh
English Resources Skills
November 13, 2019

Person Who I Admire

Jennifer Lopez once said, “I know that being seen as a role model means taking

responsibility for all my actions. I am human, and of course, sometimes I make mistakes. But I

promise that when I fall, I get back up” (as cited in Dunn, 2013). Most people have one person

to admire as a role model in life. They could be anyone such as an actor in a movie that people

have seen, a singer that one has been listening to or a person who is close in someone's life.

Those people will inspire those individuals with their achievements or their good behavior. The

person whom I admire is Jennifer Lopez because she is a good example of a person who has

endeavor, selflessness, and compassion.

Lopez first inspired me with her endeavor and it supports her in pursuing her dream to

become a superstar. It was very tough to become a superstar because many people were

competitive about it. However, Lopez’s hard work helped her achieve her goals, but she came

from humble beginnings. Jennifer Lopez was born in a Puerto Rican middle-class family in New

York, U.S. (“​Jennifer Lopez - ​Biography”​, n.d.​). In her early life, she dropped out of college

after only one semester because she knew that she wanted to be an actress but she started her

career by becoming a backup dancer (Roth, 2018). According to “​Jennifer Lopez Reveals Her

Struggles”​ (2019), Lopez gave an interview and said ​“I started sleeping on the sofa in the dance

studio. I was homeless”​. Lopez was struggling with her career in the beginning because her

family didn’t support her. However, she got a chance to be in ​In Living Color​ show whereupon
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she has become widely known (​Fernandez, 2017​). Now, she is known as one of Latina’s top-paid

actresses among the people in this industry. She eventually succeeded in her life because of her

endeavor.

Furthermore, Jenifer Lopez shows that she has selflessness through her charity work

which influenced me to give a hand to people who need it. For instance, Lopez has supported at

least 25 charities & foundations such as these two famous funds: UNICEF and the Red Cross

(“​Jennifer Lopez: Charity Work & Causes”, n.d.​). Lopez started to participate in charitable

action after the September 11 attacks and her net worth actually increased as a result because she

got positive feedback from supporting massive philanthropic activities which motivated her to

launch Lopez Family Foundation, the non-profit organisation for well- being of women and

children, with her sister (Lcarscom, 2019). This evidence illustrates that donations are

strengthening her values and other people support this idea of sharing with people who need

help. Finally, Lopez also helped in some devastation such as the one in Puerto Rico in 2017

when she donated 1 million dollars from her Las Vegas show to relieve people there after a

hurricane happened (​Villafañe, 2017​). This was extremely generous of her because it’s a

selflessness action that she gives back to other people.

Finally, Lopez’s compassion to other people impressed me because she raises the voice

for other racial minorities and breaks the inequality in the U.S. According to ​Vincenty​ (2019),

Lopez told ​“I’ve never tried to hide the fact that I’m Latina”. ​In her debut album, for example,

she recorded in both English and Spanish to present that she is proud to be from a Latin

American country (​Vincenty, 2019​). This shows that she used music as a moderator to break the

barrier between two cultures. Jennifer Lopez is now the world’s most powerful Latino celebrity
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ranked according to the ​earnings, media visibility and social media popularity ​(​Antunes, 2012​).

In 1999, many U.S. artists tried to cross over in the Latin community with their music, and

Lopez is one of the people who created the Latin Pop Movement, which guaranteed her by

winning the Grammy Award (​Haack, 2019​). Her compassion is magnificent because it reduces

inequality among U.S. society.

The three reasons why I admire Jennifer Lopez are because of her endeavor, selflessness,

and compassionate which she is the one whom I look by as a good role model. People should

look out for the positive role model because they will influence one to be better people or inspire

them to do something different.

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References
Antunes, A. (2012, July 31). The World's Most Powerful Latino Celebrities. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andersonantunes/2012/05/25/the-worlds-most-powerful-lati
no-celebrities/#5adec47c9e61.
Dunn, J. (2013, September 3). October Cover Girl Jennifer Lopez on Romance with Casper
Smart... and Her Biggest Insecurity. Retrieved from
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a15442/jennifer-lopez-october
-2013/.
Fernandez, C. (2017, October 14). The Surprising Way Jennifer Lopez Got Her Start in
Hollywood. Retrieved from
https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/Where-Did-Jennifer-Lopez-Get-Her-Start-44123638
.
Haack, B. (2019, September 10). Remembering The Latin Pop Explosion Of 1999. Retrieved
from https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/1999-year-latin-pop-conquered-america.
Jennifer Lopez - Biography, Life, Facts, Family and Songs. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.famoussingers.org/jennifer-lopez.
Jennifer Lopez: Charity Work & Causes. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/jennifer-lopez.
Lcarscom. (2019, August 14). Jennifer Lopez Net Worth, Investment, Awards and
Achievements. Retrieved from https://www.lcarscom.net/jennifer-lopez-net-worth/.
Jennifer Lopez Reveals Her Struggles On Her Way to Fame & Fortune. (2019, September 9).
Retrieved from
https://latintrends.com/jennifer-lopez-reveals-her-struggles-on-her-way-to-fame-fortune/.
Roth, D. (2018, December 1). Jennifer Lopez has long been one of the most powerful
entertainers. She now realizes she's been undervalued. Retrieved from
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jennifer-lopez-has-long-been-one-most-powerful-she-no
w-daniel-roth.
Villafañe, V. (2017, September 25). Jennifer Lopez, Daddy Yankee Donate $1 Million To Puerto
Rico; Maná Gives $200,000 To Aid Mexico. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/veronicavillafane/2017/09/25/jennifer-lopez-daddy-yankee-
donate-1-million-to-puerto-rico-mana-gives-200000-to-aid-mexico/#756e4c35ff60.
Vincenty, S. (2019, June 24). J.Lo's Career Is a Portrait of Latina Pride. Retrieved from
https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a28118369/jennifer-lopez-ethnicity/.