No Role Models: Patricia Good Compares Herself to None

When asked about a role model, many people may have an answer in mind, if not someone famous, then someone in your family. But for Patricia Good, the answer is simply “None.”

Aside from my mother, Elle Woods, the main character of Legally Blonde, is my role model or an idol when it comes to life. Of course, I’m not set on following her every footstep (or else I would have studied law instead of becoming a writer), but I see these women as ideal because they’re awe-inspiring, they are what I hope to become, at least in some ways. Regardless, Patricia Good had a different opinion when she insisted that focusing on oneself is the only way to go.

10 AM on a weekday, we have a shooting schedule for November’s digital cover with a leading actress who recently landed the role of a blushing bride in real life, Patricia Good. Pat stepped into the studio with her mother and greeted the staff with a shining smile that remained bright all day. We sat down and talked to her about how life has been recently, how she has to act, and her role model in life, to which she quickly answered, “None.” We knew we just had to dig deeper into that answer.

“I don’t have a particular role model in life. When I was younger, I may have had an idol, an actor I liked, an artist I admired, but as I grew up, I didn’t have one.” In an era where one grows up with an influencer or a virtual role model in the social media world, those people became a blueprint of what everyone wants to be. From a Youtuber who often shows off their lavish lifestyle, reviewing all the delicious cuisines, dining at a top-of-the-line restaurant, and indulging in omakase several times a week, to a fashion influencer inviting us to shop at countless stores, doing the fashion haul, and sitting in the front row at a fashion week.

On one hand, It’s not a crime to look up to those people. Many of them find success, not only in wealth but also in being an inspiration for many more. The prime example is Emma Chamberlain, a YouTuber whose journey began with telling stories about her teenage life candidly without any dramatization. By being herself, she managed to accumulate an audience and subscribers of millions, build her own business – Chamberlain Coffee, created a podcast where she further shares her experiences, and worked with a big fashion company, Louis Vuitton, all at the age of 20.

‘Role model’ could mean more than just someone we want to follow in the footsteps of, it could mean someone we admire and respect as well. Pat further answered the question, “I admire their works. The artists, the actors, both local and international. I choose to admire their work as an art form not because of who they are, not because I admire them and want to be like them.” “When you’re more mature, comparing doesn’t bring you any good at all,” she added.

That turned out to be true. The scary thing about following the footsteps of others is the comparison. Olivia Rodrigo blasted the fact that Taylor Swift is her role model to the world, and how she saw her as a stepmother of a kind (as in she grew up listening to Taylor’s discography). So, when Rodrigo topped the chart and took home many awards, many people started to compare her to the revered songstress, how she’ll never be as good, how Olivia copied Taylor too much and even managed to drop the award just the same causing a huge feud between two fandoms. This is just one of the incidents where the positive words turned ugly.

“Right now, I prefer to follow a page or a blog that inspires you to be yourself, to find the confidence in you, to find the value in you. Especially, as we’re using social media every day, it’s very hard to not be down, sad,  or compare yourself to others,” Pat gave her opinion on the social media landscape that has been going downhill lately.

“So I don’t have anyone as my role model, I try to focus more on myself. Being with people that make me a better me is enough,” Pat reaffirms her opinion, and reiterates that in a world full of many faces, having a role model can be a good thing. But don’t forget that, above all else, there’s only one of you in this world. Be your best self. Don’t be like others, and don’t be a copy of someone else because the world wants only you, not two of you.