Every person needs someone to look up to -- a role model, mentor, a hero. Young people especially need a guide who has already been through the trials and joys of growing up. Even more importantly, we need mentors who are strong mature Christians and set examples of following Christ faithfully. In my life, there is one man who has been all of these things to me and more: my father. For my whole life, my dad has been a godly Christian example, a loving father, and a source of encouragement for me to be the best that I can be.

In raising five children, my father has embraced the command to "train a child in the way he should go." (Prov. 22:6a). He has always been a central figure in the lives of my siblings and me, from our faith to our education to our leisure time. As I have grown up I have been struck by the realizatio of how strong a Christian my dad is and how blessed I have been to have grown up in a stable home with such loving parents.

My dad has also had a huge impact on my life in the area of education. As a homeschooling father, he was naturally in charge of my schooling, but above and beyond that, he has passed on to me his love of words. He has taken care to expose me to great literature, from reading Alice in Wonderland and The Hobbit to me when I was little to giving me books like Lord of the Rings, Master and Commander, and A Tale of Two Cities, as well as making his considerable collection of books available to me at any time. Through all this reading I became a pretty good writer, and through my dad's critiques of my writing I have become even better.

Since I have started high school I have also been drawn to the sciences. The most important thing I have learned from my father regarding science and academics in general is the skill of reasoning, of thinking logically, objectively and constructively. One of the traits I most admire in my dad is his incredible organized method of thinking, and it is something that I continue to learn each day.

It is interesting to note the many similiarities between my father and myself. He majored in English and chemistry, which have become my two favorite classes. He is a physician; I am considering possibly entering a field such as medical research. He took AP classes in high school; I anticipate doing the same. Our tastes in literature run in much the same vein, preferring the Romantics and certain classics such as Lord of the Rings or sea stories and adventures like Horatio Hornblower or The Three Musketeers. He ran distance track in high school and cross country in college; I am running cross country and distance truck.

Because my father has done all these things before me, he is able to give me sound advice about priorities, responsibility, and pushing myself to do the best I can. He has always encouraged me to try many things, and has let me know that he is proud of me. These things put me in mind of the words of Solomon, "He who walks with the wise grows wise" (Prov. 13:20a). I have an immense respect for my father, and I look up to him as an exceptional example of what I can and should strive to be, both in school and in my walk as a Christian.