Who Is Your Hero?

Everyone picks his/her hero. Or role model. Inspiration. Person they want to be. Or maybe it’s not a person. Maybe it’s a trait, like courage, or humility or wisdom. What, or who, is your hero?

When I was younger and looked around, everyone from my little brother to my classmates to my neighbor to whoever seemed to have one. Superman. Ash from Pokemon. Harry Potter. Their grandfather who died in Vietnam. All who they deemed heroes.

I never had one.

Granted, I’ll flub a little on that statement. I started watching Dragonball Z by the end of the 4th grade, so Goku is hero by default. If you disagree with that then you’re wrong.

But wayyyy before that time I didn’t have a hero. Didn’t look up to anyone. Truth be told I was kinda doing my own thing. Keeping up with collecting Pokemon cards, so in other words holographics. Struggling to pass the spelling test without whispering to my classmate the answer (I mispelled ‘delicious’ and we both failed that one). Playing freeze tag at the park with my cousints. I didn’t have a hero–I was just living it up and being happy.

Even as I matured, I never really ‘had’ someone I looked up to, or embodied the traits I so wanted, or however you define a hero. I bitched and griped and compared myself and put me down but not once found a person to call ‘role model.’ Older brother? Riiiiiiight. Teacher? Maybe if she gave me that A. I would flit between characters from movies or books or people from real life…but they were always my current crush, and you can’t say ‘he’s my hero because he’s got great hair.’

Now, I am 24 and I still don’t have a hero. Never truly did–except for the automatic Goku. The more I think about this idea the more I’m happy to realize I focused more on myself, bettering it and building up the traits I needed.

It’s kinda cool, right?

Of course, to answer this question, you must ask yourself: what is a hero? Is it the same thing as a person who is inspiring (and doesn’t have to be an inspiration, for there is a huuuuuge difference between the two). Is it a role model, and can it be many people? Do you decide who your hero is, or is this process more organic?

I find heroic traits in many individuals. The troops who serve not just my country but any country. The young man who opens the door for the old woman in a wheelchair. The young lady who opens the door for the old woman in the wheelchair. Every homeless person living on the streets. Any homeless person. The fifteen-year boy working to jobs to support his family. The boy in college working two jobs to pay for college. Any person willing to express his/her opinion.

I find and see heroic traits in every person every day. Not even just traits, but ideas, beliefs, choices.

I still don’t have a hero to this day. I think I’d rather be my own anyways.

Who is yours? 🙂

As for someone I find inspiring…It’s the guy below, and not just because he has gorgeous hair.