I watched her put on her makeup.

I wanted to wear everything she wore.

I saw what she shared on Facebook.

I wanted to be just like her.

I can remember always looking up to my sisters, their friends, family friends, and my own family members and thinking, "I wish I could be like her." I saw beautiful, strong, sweet, loving women and I could not wait to be just like them. My sister wore pink lip gloss and black eyeliner, I wore pink lip gloss and black eyeliner. I stole her shirts to look " grown up" and I wanted to tag along with the "older girls" every chance I got. So many girls in my life were role models to me, they cared about me, showed me the do's and don'ts of life, and were an example for me.

Now, as an adult, I can see that there are young girls who look up to me, want to be like me, and like my Instagram photos weekly. Now, I am that girl - the one I used to look up to, for someone else. I am surrounded by young girls who are impressionable and see me as their role model - even though my socks never match, my fridge is empty, and I still have no idea what I am doing with my life. I still have to remember that they hear what I say, see the pictures I post online, what I tweet, how I dress, and who I am. I realize that I need to be an example, a role model, and be continuous of what I decide to share. No, I might not be perfect, I make mistakes and mess up sometimes, but I want to be a role model for girls who surround me. There is a time and place for everything and a time and place to share. I can go out and have a fun weekend, have a drink at dinner, and sing karaoke at the bar on Thursday night - But I will try and censor what I post to my Facebook. I will not tell the 12-year-old girls on my swim team about my margarita at dinner. I will make sure that I portray myself in a manner that is open and honest while remaining professional.

As young adults, we need to remember that we were once the 12-year-old girls that looked up to the awesome 21-year-old college girl. Our eyes were always on them and we wanted to end up like them. Now, we are those women, we are the example, and we are the role models. It can be hard to forget that someone is watching. We say, "I'm in college, I can do what I want," but we forget that young girls will model their behavior after you. We need to make sure we show them how to love life and have fun without posting pictures in questionable outfits and holding 2 drinks in their hands. We should be careful when we are talking in front of them. We should set the example that others set for us as young girls.

Because one day, those 12-year-old girls will grow up to be young adults and it will be their turn to be the role models.