"Anne Frank changed my outlook": Himangi from AMU on her Role Model

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Anne Frank, a German diarist, is my role model. A victim of the holocaust of Germany under the Hitler regime, she had a habit of writing her diary daily. When the Hitler regime ended because of the Soviet’s help, her father was the only person who survived the concentration camps from the family. Both his daughters along with his wife succumbed to the holocaust. He was the one who received her diary and decided to compile his daughter’s work in a book which is now famous as - “The Diary of a Young Girl.” 

The ideal Role Model

I was in class 10 when I came across this book. A new CBSE curriculum had been introduced back then which incorporated novels in the syllabus of English Literature. Initially having dreaded this step, I gradually developed a liking for her story which caught my attention after a few classes. The one thing that left me in awe of the book was her Anne Frank’s age. She was so young when she died! But more than that, the way she lived her life was inspiring. 

Her family went into hiding to save themselves from dying in the holocaust. During that period, she wrote about herself and the way she survived. One other thing that caught my eye was how nicely the book enveloped the fact that people are really good at keeping a fake front. Anne’s character, thoughts, perspectives were best reflected when she was the narrator in her diary entries and not in placed where she spoke to her family. 

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy”

On similar lines pops an important question which holds back numerous people from opening up, would people understand? Understanding this fact helped me relate well with the book. I was one of the clan too, the one who would put up a fake front for people around and know nothing about them. And even though this thought broke my heart, it helped me appreciate the people even more. Everybody is facing a crisis of their own. But they have developed this amazing ability to get up every morning and put a mask which helps them fake it all. 

But what’s strikingly crucial here is that people find faking themselves easy instead of sharing. This, I think, is because we have grown up in a society that has its own ideal version of people and we all unconsciously strive for that.

Anne was the one who changed my thought process, perspective and my outlook towards life. Even after being a witness to humanity’s cruelty, she always had hope. “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy”, is one of my favourite quotes from the book. It symbolizes her hope for love along with a belief in happiness, thereby helping me believe in love. 

How Anne Frank changed me

She was the one who helped me understand the power of words. And it was because of her book that I started writing in the first place. I was 15 when I read her writing and since then I have always tried to pour my emotions through words. Reading and writing, two precious gifts of my life, have been given to me by her. And both of these gifts have turned into stress relievers for me.

Another lesson I learnt from her is that it is important to listen to your conscience and remain focused on things that actually matter. And so, whenever I see communal riots, I always think of her, what she would have thought of it and that’s how Anne has also acted a mentor in my life. She is someone whose thoughts stayed with me, long after I finished the book. They have since then helped me heal and move on from the tough times, the ones where the world seems to fall apart. 

My role model might not be physically present in this world, but her words have lived. They have inspired me to become a writer. Everybody has a person that changes them. Anne Frank was the change for me. Her life moved me, her will to bring about a change inspires me, even today. Her ability to see good in bad changed my outlook. The way she went back to her diary every time made me like the process of writing. And reading her work, built my trust in the power of words and changed me into an avid reader.

This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author 2.0 with Dare2Compete.