God has blessed me not with superpowers, but with a mentor and that is my father. When people ask me, why not some other great personality, such as Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa, who have brought about change in the entire world? I tell them, my father is my idol, because he has taught me “It is always better to be a first-rate version of yourself, than a second-rate version of someone else”.

I look up to my father and can relate to him. He provides me the impetus to soar higher and hold my head high.

My father is a risk-taker. He deals with extreme pressure at his work yet has a smile on his face always. For him money is not everything, but personal satisfaction and happiness is.

He is someone who runs after excellence, not success. His leadership quality, his utter devotion to his work, without forgetting his near and dear ones inspires me. He has inculcated within me the power to go on even when everyone has given up. My father has inspired me to apply these words in their truest sense – winners never quit, and quitters never win.

My father is my role model, for he has taught me that life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.

Rituparna Padhy

Class IX

Mother’s Public School

Bhubaneswar