SURE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL. BUT IF YOU COULD CHOOSE TO BE LIKE ANYONE IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE?

Think about it: what would Africa be like if we all had someone to look up to for a change? I have a theory that our continent would be totally transformed if we each had a person to inspire us to do our best. Ask your friends who their role models are, and how many of them would say someone from Africa? OK, Nelson Mandela is a great example of a hero from our continent. So are Barack Obama, Lucas Radebe and even Charlize Theron. They're all symbols of what Africans can achieve when we push through the glass ceiling and explore possibilities. But we're so used to hearing the same old stories about our mother land -- poverty, disease, corruption, crime -- that it's easy to forget how many great African role models are out there.

More importantly, it's easy to forget that you can be a great African role model yourself. The truth is, if enough young people decided to copy all the good examples around us today (or even learn from the mistakes of the not-so-great examples) then Africa would be a very different place tomorrow. Just imagining yourself scoring as many goals as Lucas or winning an Oscar like Charlize can literally change your life, because once you can imagine something good for your life, you can start working towards getting it.

We asked a few 2009 GOLD Lead Peer Educators who they look to for inspiration. Most of them mentioned people from their own communities: parents, teachers and close relatives all played a big role in inspiring them and guiding them to achieve.

When you've taken a look at what they had to say, take a moment to think about who you'd choose to copy. Then picture yourself achieving the same things they've achieved and what it would take for you to get there. It's the first step to becoming someone else's hero.

Ronel Manuel

Ronel Manuel lists her sister as a role model. She's an energetic and passionate sports scientist who is such a great example that Ronel wants to become a sports manager too. Every day, before going to work, Ronel's sister leaves a script of a bible verse to inspire Ronel. She always takes time to listen and help her sister work through issues. Ronel's other role model is her peer education facilitator, Edwin. He's a man who lives what he teaches. He doesn't rush ahead to come up with plans for the people he mentors; instead, he takes them through their ideas step by step until they can agree on a way to go.

Lindinkosi Ricardo Yoko

Lindinkosi's father is a supervisor in correctional services. Sounds scary, right? Not to Lindinkosi. He says he looks up to his dad because he is always actively involved in other people's lives and encourages them to keep focused on their goals. Living up to that example is a challenge for Lindinkosi and he hopes to give his father the satisfaction of seeing his son do well one day.

Mendy Tyhawana

Mendy's mom has gone through extremely rough times: from a fire that destroyed their home to the death of her husband. And yet, Mendy says her mom remained positive until all the hard times had passed. She taught her that with a positive attitude, hard work and good choices, she could be the best version of herself.

Bathabile Mashaba

For Bathabile, her late mom is her role model because she was willing to stand up for what she believed in and she never let those around her give up hope. She never let them set small goals out of fear. She always encouraged them to do big things in life and take chances. She understood that you never know what you can or can't do until you try.

Siphe Nqodi

Siphe Nqodi says his father is also one of his role models, but not in the usual way. He says he works hard to never be like him. His other role models are his Grade 12 teacher, Andrea Kleinschmidt and his high school principal. Siphe says that his love and appreciation of IT was all because of his grade 12 teacher, who continually inspired him to do better. His principal taught him basic financial management, and the importance of being responsible and accountable when it comes to finances.