What Is A Hero?

What defines a hero? Is it someone who deals with everyday battles but still keeps a positive attitude? Is it a main character from a novel that lays his or her life on the line? Or is it the one who saves the day? All of these fulfill the requirements of a hero. But the real answer to this question lies in the eye of the beholder. After asking numerous people what a hero is to them, I noticed a slight pattern in everybody's opinion. Instead of a celebrity or a movie character, the majority of people had a more personal approach for their idea of what a hero is to them.

One of the people that I interviewed said that her hero was the designated driver on New Year's Eve. When I asked her why the designated driver, she answered simply because who doesn't drink on New Years? It is a tradition. For someone to step up and pledge to not drink on one of the biggest holiday's that is known for major partying and drinking astronomical amounts of alcohol takes a very responsible person. This person was a hero because she stepped up to help everyone out in a time when everyone would like to go out and have a good time. Another person I interviewed saw her grandmother as her hero. She saw her a very strong independent woman. As she was growing up she watched her grandmother go through many situations and said that she always handled them with grace, never seeming to let things stand in her way of handling it with the best of care. Two completely different people but still seeing the people in their lives as remarkable people.

Whereas I myself see my parents as a hero figure in my life. They have always been there through the good times and the bad. No matter how good or bad a situation they were always there with encouraging words of how to get through a certain situation. They were always strong in the situations where it was hard for everyone else to be strong. They always love me no matter if I have done something great or if I sometimes manage to disappoint them. From the time when I was young and growing up they always set a good example for my family, even if they were not on the best of terms with each other. It just did not matter what the situation they still wanted to show me right from wrong, so when I became an adult I would know how to handle myself, no matter what the situation I may encounter.

Then you encounter America where anything goes. On any given