ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, January 15, 1996               TAG: 9602080011
SECTION: NEWSFUN                  PAGE: NF1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER 


WHO YOU'D LIKE TO BE

Who wouldn't like to be rich? or famous? or both?

When we asked you to tell us who you would most like to be like - your heroes - many of you sent in the names of movie stars, sports figures and popular singers. You let us know that many of you admire rich and famous people.

Sure, it would be great to be able to fly like Michael Jordan, make millions of dollars and be able to get all the free Nikes you wanted.

Or it would be fun to be like Shaquille O'Neal ``because he has a good temper and he is a good player,'' wrote Jamie Saunders of Huff Lane Elementary in Roanoke.

You would like to be like baseball great Babe Ruth, football quarterbacks Steve Young and Dan Marino or Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, the football player you most admire.

It would be fun to have a ``great voice and be very pretty like Mariah Carey,'' wrote Breanne Lafferty of Rocky Mount Elementary School in Franklin County. Or to sing like Amy Grant, Janet Jackson or Whitney Houston.

Wouldn't it be great to be a movie star like Jean Claude Van Damme or Arnold Schwarzenegger, and have your friends pay to see you on the big screen?

It's not just the rich and famous you admire, however. Some of you found some famous historical figures to admire, such as George Washington, Betsy Ross and Pocahontas - ``She was very brave and saved a white man,'' wrote Katie Eggleston of Penn Forest Elementary in Roanoke County. Some of you dream of walking on the moon, like Neil Armstrong.

``I would like to be like Helen Keller,'' wrote Kendall Price of Wytheville. ``People all over the world are deaf and blind and I would like to help them like she did.''

Most of all, the people you admire the most are right in your own homes - your moms and dads.

``My dad is a good man,'' wrote Chelsea Bowers of Hillsville. ``Also, he helps people and he is nice.''

Calvin Waldron of Glen Cove Elementary School in Roanoke County would like to be like his dad ``because he's strong and is a hard worker and he's also good at basketball.''

``I would like to be like my mom because she's nice,'' wrote Erin Ocheltree of Spiller Elementary School in Wytheville. ``She can do a lot of things that most moms can't.''

Jonathan Morgan of Glen Cove School would like to be like his dad because ``he's bigger than my mom. But most of all, because he's nice.''

``My dad works hard on a big farm with lots of cattle,'' wrote Seth Branscome of Hillsville. ``My dad is tall and wonderful.''

``I want to be like my dad because he's smarter than me,'' wrote Lauren Benesh of Garden City School in Roanoke. ``He never failed a subject.''

``My mom is nice and she is fun to play with,'' wrote Tiffani Smith of F.W. Kling School in Buena Vista. ``She is the best mom on this Earth.''

Roxie Alley wants to be like her dad because ``he is very adventurous and we are like buddies.''

``I want to be like my mother because she is caring, gentle, nice, loving and has time to talk,'' wrote Tiffany Poole of Christiansburg.

Several of you even admitted that you liked your sisters and brothers.

``I would like to be like my brother, Jason,'' wrote Brandon Proutey of Roanoke County, ``because he is so funny.''

``My sister is a nice person and I love her,'' wrote Shelby Saunders of Roland E. Cook Elementary School in Vinton.

Some of you might have been just a little bit sad about missing school lately. You weren't able to be with your hero - your teacher. You had many reasons for admiring your teachers.

Maryann Mitchell of Hillsville wrote that her teacher, Mrs. Quesenberry, ``helps people and is a good friend.''

``My teacher is smart and she makes friends easily,'' wrote Isaac McGhee of Hillsville. ``We all love her.''

More than anyone else, you are your own heroes. So many of you are happy being you. As Justin Key of Penn Forest Elementary in Roanoke County wrote, ``I would just like to be myself because I accept me for who I am and I'm happy.''

``I think I am fine just the way I am,'' wrote Tabitha Maddox of Garden City School. ``I do not need to be like anyone else.''


LENGTH: Medium:   83 lines
ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC:  caricatures of: Mariah Carey, Michael Jordan, Mom/Dad,

Emmitt Smith, Jean Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Whitney

Houston and George Washington color.

by CNB