“Heroes don’t need to fly or shoot lasers from their eyes to be the one who saves countless lives.
They don’t need super-strength or super-speed to be there, in someone’s hour of need.
They don’t need a mask or villainous foe to save a family from certain woe.
They just need to try to do what is right, to be the hero, shining in the night.”
This poem was my response to “What makes a hero?” As the poem says, heroes come in many shapes and sizes, but not all of them have flowing capes and tight spandex pants. The real heroes are the average people just trying to do the right thing. I believe a hero is someone who is determined to do good, no matter the cost, a hero is someone who is selfless in bad situations and willing to put their own life at risk so that another person might live to see another day, and finally a hero is a leader and role model to those around them, staying calm and strong in the face of danger.
Unquestionably, heroes are people who are determined to do what’s right for their comrades or community, they are determined to follow their dreams, they are determined to reach a goal that they set for themselves, and they do. Take Homer Hickam for example, Homer was determined to make a functional rocket, despite the discouragement and scorn from his family, community, and especially his father. Would you be able to continue working towards your dreams if the entire world said you’d never make it? Homer did. In fact, he even won the national science fair for his tiny hometown and shook his hero’s hand. Homer later went on to becoming a rocket scientist for NASA, which was his long-term goal. A hero isn’t someone who gives up easily or gets discouraged by the slightest of cruel, thoughtless words. Perhaps if someone set a goal for themselves, such as straight A’s or perfect attendance, and then reached those goal, perhaps they could be called “Hero”. They would at least deserve the title “Determined,” would they not? If they tried their very best and even did a big packet of extra credit, then they are most certainly determined because they set a goal for themselves and was determined to make it happen, encouraging others along the way. If a tiny voice inside of you doesn’t think to itself “I will help them.” Will you? Determination to set and reach goals is a key element in earning the title “hero”, and is a quality that all heroes I know possess.
Equally as important of a trait would be the ability to put someone else’s well being before your own in the face of danger. Heroes don’t run from burning buildings to save themselves, they don’t leave others behind to spare their own life. Heroes forget almost entirely about their own health and safety when they hear that desperate cry for help. Heroes disregard their survival when bad situations set out to devastate lives. Heroes drop whatever they’re doing to seek out that crying child or old lady crossing the street without her seeing eye dog. The security of the people around them always comes first to true heroes. Ana, a beloved wife and mother of three is a perfect example of someone who is selfless. Ana is, and has been, battling cancer for about ten years! Does she complain? Does she use it as an excuse to nothing all day and neglect her children? Does she focus on herself and ignore the health or unhealthiness of the people around her? No. Everyday she encourages her children to do and try their best in everything that they do and to never give up. She is their mentor, their comfort, and their best friend. She gathers the strength every morning to take on the world all over again, and to be the best mother she can be given the circumstances, and it shows. When people ask the unavoidable question for all cancer patients that is: “How are you?” She smiles and tells them about all the good things in her life, rather than how sick her therapy makes her. She realizes that people don’t truly want to know how she is, even if they think they do. Ana is a perfect example of a selfless hero.
Possibly the most important of traits, one that all heroes should exhibit would be a divine gift for leadership. They don’t have to begin as great leaders, but when the moment arises for someone to guide all the lost souls, a hero will be there, showing everyone the way to safety. Heroes can’t play “Every man for himself,” and leave everyone else defenseless, or they’re not heroes. It takes a true hero to push a bully away from a crying child, or to pull one from a burning building. Heroes stay calm to set an example for everyone else involved, so the situation doesn’t worsen. Heroic leaders don’t have to round up six toddlers and lead them from wrecked buildings to safety, but that’s what a six year old boy, Deamonte Love did. Deamonte Love is a leader and a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, a storm that devastated over a thousand people. The six-year-old boy was found walking down a street, surrounded by toddles ranging from the ages of five months to three years. The children were all “fat and happy,” meaning that little Deamonte had managed to effectively care for all six babies. That is a real hero. To be a leader isn’t necessarily to lead people from certain doom, one could simply organize a charity or encourage people to donate to the Red Cross foundation. Heroes almost always do something to lead or instruct others for their safety, or to simply do their best.
According to Webster’s New American Dictionary of the English Language “hero” has four definitions, my favorite being the third: “A man/woman who is admired for his/her achievements or qualities.” I like this one the most because the others didn’t relate to my three points, however, the word “admired” bugs me because a true hero doesn’t desire admiration, fortune, or fame. No, a true hero is selfless in bad situations, determined to set and reach goals, and a leader and role model to all that learn of them. As mentioned in the poem, heroes don’t have to have fantastical powers or ridiculous costumes, they just need to strive to do what’s right, to be the hero, shining in the night.
