This week, I thought I would take a break from writing about serious controversial issues, like abortion and civil rights, and spend some time writing about an individual I idolized as a child.

When I was in elementary school, my family was living in Colorado and my dad was working in Denver. Like many kids, my sister and I would occasionally go with our dad to work and play with his office supplies, ask annoying questions and probably make more noise than his coworkers preferred.

Although all of that was extremely fun, the best part about going to the office with Dad were the days where his secretary would take us into the break room, sit us down on a big, comfy couch and turn the television on to one of our favorites: Shirley Temple. We would watch episodes all day and sing along with the perky, curly-haired girl dancing across the screen.

At the time, she was somebody I idolized. After every episode I would dance around singing about animal crackers in my soup and pretend it was me going on the crazy adventures instead of Shirley. To be completely honest there are still days where I dance and sing along to her songs in my dorm room, the whole time just hoping nobody catches me.

Shirley Temple was a role model many parents wanted their kids to have. She used her manners, treated others kindly and was always learning new and vital life lessons. The great thing about Shirley was her ability to take her fame with a grain of salt. In the 1930s, Shirley Temple was at her peak and was an incredibly famous actress. She spent many years in the limelight but was able to maintain her humility and lead a personal life that her audience could look up to as well.

After her acting career came to an end, she didn’t strip down and jump on a wrecking ball, start using illegal drugs or get caught drag racing while intoxicated. Instead she became an American diplomat and gave back to a community who supported her work as an actress. Shirley Temple was a representative in the United Nations General Assembly and was the first female Chief of Protocol for the United States. She was an outstanding woman who not only had a successful career as a child star, but she was also able to grow up and become an outstanding woman, which is not something you currently see happening very often.

I have a younger sister who is 10 years old, and when I come home, one of our favorite things to do is just cuddle up on the couch and watch a few TV shows. After watching the current programs geared toward young children, I feel discouraged and a bit disappointed. My little sister has no Shirley Temple to look up to. Instead she gets to watch as the young actors and actresses of her generation are leading less than acceptable social lives. I don’t expect Hollywood celebrities to lead flawless lives. I do think, however, they have some responsibility to be role models for their fans.

Not only do actors have some responsibility to be leaders and trendsetters for the younger generation, but I would go as far to say that writers also have a responsibility to include content that can not only entertain children, but can educate them as well. Shirley was able to teach children the importance of perseverance and kindness, because behind the scenes there were producers and writers who wanted to create a show with the power to teach children many valuable life lessons. Creating a show as wholesome, and entertaining as Shirley Temple is tough work, but I wouldn’t mind seeing some producers give it a try.

Shirley Temple died on Feb 10, leaving behind some extraordinarily large shoes to fill.