HERO

H

I need a hero to save me now
I need a hero (save me now)
I need a hero to save my life
A hero'll save me (just in time)

-"Hero" by Skillet

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There are over a million words to describe a person.

You can use occupation titles to create a stereotype about the person to determine a baseline for their personality. For example, if somebody tells you they are a doctor, what's the first few words that pop in your head about that individual? Let me provide some for you: snotty, know-it-all, workaholic, arrogant. With the four words I provided, I created a negative bias about that person and made you want to treat them badly. What if I used these words instead: helpful, ambitious, determined, inspiring. I just changed your view of that individual, which will result in your actions towards them to change. Instead of having a pessimistic view of that person, I made a positive bias about them and you want to treat them with nothing but respect. The job an individual has can create countless numbers of assumptions in your head about a person when you have never associated with them in your whole life. All of these stereotypes you automatically make of an individual depends on your experiences with a person in your life obtaining that occupation.

You can describe a person based off of comments others said about them. Let's say you want to befriend the new guy in your math class. Before you decide to talk to him, you ask your best friend what they think of him and they tell you he has a criminal record for multiple batteries. From that response, you want to avoid the new guy at all costs and the desire to befriend him vanishes. On the other hand, let's say that your best friend tells you that they heard he's very friendly and likes to meet new people. After hearing that, the impulse to go talk to him increases and you want to become his friend.  Hearing what others have to say about an individual can alter your feelings about that specific person. Your mind believes what others have to say about that individual because they've done their research on them before you did.

The way somebody dresses can shape the way you treat that person. Take for instance a girl who wears nothing but black clothes and spiked jewelry. Just from her appearance gives you bad vibes about that girl and something inside of you tells you to avoid her at all costs. In contrast, you see another girl wearing skinny jeans with a pink shirt, matching flats, and a gold charm necklace. Her appearance creates an assumption that she's open to conversation, bubbly, and friendly. You want to go talk to her and become her friend. By the way somebody expresses themself through their clothes can get your mind to assume how the person acts and what their personality is without going to talk to them yourself.

Lastly, you can use adjectives to describe a person. There's an endless list of them for us humans to utilize to create a view of a person based off of those words. You can describe your sibling as annoying and rude while your best friend says they're sweet and honest. Your mom can describe your significant other as a criminal for their attempted battery on their record while you describe them as a survivor for fighting off their abuser. The words you pick to say about a person can define who that individual is to somebody else.

With me, I don't know how I would describe myself to others. My parents tell others I'm intelligent and beautiful. The people I go to high school with would say I'm introverted and a loner. My coworkers and boss think I'm blunt and kindhearted. I've heard so many adjectives associated with my name, but I'm not sure if I would use any of them to describe myself.

Out of all of the different words I can choose to describe myself, hero is the last word I would use. I, Astrid Honor, don't see myself as a person that makes a difference in another person's life or saving a bystander from danger. I don't picture a 5'4", straight blonde hair, green eyed girl being honored a special award for being heroic. That's not the image I have associated with my name in my head. In my town, I'm just another face with a name paired to it. Nobody talks to me, and I don't talk to anybody. That's just how it goes.