Throughout grade school I probably wrote a handful of essay's talking about who my role model was and who I looked up to the most. I would always write about my mother because without a doubt, my mom was and always will be my number one role model. She has set the bar extremely high for whoever else I look up to in my life.

I don't just look up to a person because of their wealth, fame, what they own, what they do, or who they know. When I hear the term "role model" I think of someone in my life that I know personally or has affected my life in some way.

I am, and always have been, obsessed with makeup. It was a creative outlet for me that I fell in love with at a young age. Three years ago I stumbled across Jaclyn Hill's YouTube page and basically my life changed forever.

I couldn't stop watching her videos. I'd be at school, draining my data away, learning how to perfect the art of blending out harsh lines in my eye shadow and contour (and I do say ART because honey, blending is NO JOKE).

February of my senior year me and my friend were accepted to be apart of an event that brought about 30 girls together to open up about the struggles young ladies face growing up and Jaclyn Hill would be the conversation leader (the event was recorded and posted on her YouTube page, Teen Town Hall - Opening up about struggles | Jaclyn Hill).

She talked about the ways she overcame times of hardship growing up and how these situations were growing and learning experiences that would help her throughout her life. From that day on she had became my role model.

Meeting someone I saw as a "YouTube celebrity" was surreal, but sitting next to her and hearing her open up about her personal struggles and things she has had to deal with in her life that she doesn't share with the rest of the online world, let me see the humble, strong, and loving woman that she is.

A few weeks later I got to spend time with her and her family which allowed me to see the amazing bond that she talks about having with them in some of her videos. The support she has behind her is like no other and the best part is that she gives that support right back.

Posting video's to YouTube open's the door for people to say whatever they want to her and about her, and not everyone has the nicest things to say sometimes. I have never once seen Jaclyn lash out or fire back negatively to any rude comment or tweet. If and when she responds she does so with grace. In the words of Taylor Swift, "haters gonna hate," but it's one thing to say "shake it off" than actually doing it. The hateful comments sometimes hurt her, but at the end of the day she knows who she is as an individual and knows what kind of love and support she has from her family as well as subscribers.

Jaclyn's makeup skills and style are #goals, but it's who she is as a person that I admire the most. She spreads an incredible amount of love everywhere she goes and touches the hearts of everyone she encounters. She's genuinely kind and has a gentle heart of gold with just the right amount of spunk. She is driven with an incredible work ethic and does not let the opinions of others stop her from what SHE knows she has the ability to do. With all of her accomplishments and attention she's received, she still manages to stay humble.

Thank you Jaclyn for teaching me the art of blending.

Thank you Jaclyn for being the perfect example of class and grace personified.

Thank you Jaclyn for being the big sister I never had, over the internet.

Thank you Jaclyn for being one of the best role models a girl could ask for.

Thank you Jaclyn for being you.