Gretchen Wilson Okay With Being Role Model

Gretchen Wilson photo by Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of SonyBMG.

May 8, 2008 — Gretchen Wilson spent a huge amount of time this year working to earn her General Education Development certificate, or GED — the equivalent of a high-school degree.

It would have been easy for Gretchen to shrug it off. After all, her music career has her on a tight schedule, and she’s put herself in a good financial position. But she felt the diploma would be a boost to her self-esteem.

"I think the main thing for me on this whole deal was I got to a point where I found enough time to start doing something for me," she told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "Finishing my education was something that I had to do for me. And it’s something that, because I’m in this role-model position, maybe will help a lot of other people, too, by me just doing nothing other than taking care of myself and looking [after] myself for a while."

That marks a huge change in Gretchen’s personal viewpoint. One of her biggest concerns in attaining fame was how she might influence other people to live their lives.

"Everybody’s got issues," she noted. "Everybody’s got their own things that they have to deal with in their life and their own obstacles that they have to overcome. That whole role-model [thing] used to scare the hell out of me. I was so afraid of everybody looking to me to set the example. It’s turning now, and it’s getting to a place where it’s doing some good, and it feels good."

Gretchen officially picks up her degree Thursday, May 15.