A portrait of me?

We spent quite a while in class on Friday discussing if we'd ever want portraits done of ourselves. I've been thinking about this a bit, and one comment (unfortunately I can't recall who made it) that's really stayed with me is "I'd want a portrait because it would mean I was someone important enough to get a portrait done." I think that's pretty much the heart of the issue. If Abraham Lincoln had lived out his life as a farmer living in a log cabin, no one would ever have drawn a portrait of him. Since he worked hard to become a lawyer, politician, and eventually president, he became worthy of portraits. If Gloria Steinem had remained a discontented housewife instead of writing The Feminine Mystique, no one would have painted her. (These days, anyone with sufficient funding can get one, but unless they are actually notable it's not likely that anyone outside of friends and family is going to see it.)

Taking that into consideration I'd say the question isn't so much "would I ever want a portrait of myself?" as "will I ever be worthy of one?" I really don't know the answer to this. I'm not sure I'd like to be famous exactly...in the sense of being a celebrity. Like many people, I would like to do something good for the world and be remembered for that...but what exactly I'm not sure. I do know that if one wants to be remember one has to be active...join groups/organizations and take a leading role in them. I haven't done very much of that thus far, but I want to change that in college which is why I'm trying out several different clubs. I'm hoping that in one of them I figure out what it is I want to do and eventually do it so well I get a portrait...maybe. I'm still not sure I want one.