A lot of the news I learn about I read on the Internet. For some reason watching the news on television depresses me more than reading it does. Some of the news I read pertains to movie/television stars, athletes, singers, etc. Many of the articles I read call these celebrities "heroes" because of their acting "talents" or because they give or raise money for a specific charity or cause.
This made me think about a quote I once read; "Heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences." I really like this definition and consider it to be an accurate description of what truly makes someone a hero!
It is true that many celebrities have good acting skills or they can give of their time when needed or they can give millions of dollars to a charity but what do they really do that makes them a hero? They may perform in a play or a made-for-tv movie that raises awareness of a particular social problem. They can hold fundraisers relying on the help of their fellow celebrities to raise the money they need to show support for their choice of charity or they can ask their accountants to write them a check. I don't think of a celebrity as hero at all. They are just a person who is in a position to raise awareness or give or raise money for a specific charity or cause if they choose to do so.
I believe a hero is a person who, as the quote above states, does what they have to do when they have to do it, no matter what the consequences are. Instead of choosing to either look for the bad or become bad due to circumstances in their life, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they have chosen to become better people who see the good in others! For instance police officers, fire fighters, EMTs, doctors, and nurses place their lives in jeopardy every day in order to save the life of another person. Police officers face the possibility of being shot to death, fire fighters could die in a fire while EMTs, doctors and nurses face the possibility of contracting diseases that could ultimately kill them. Yet, in spite of these dangers, they have educated themselves on the risks involved and still choose to remain in their professions.
If I had to choose a person in history who I believe was/is a hero, I would choose Anne Frank. When she was a teenager; her country was going through WWII. Due to her ethnicity she and others were endanger of being killed because of a man's twisted thoughts that anyone who was Jewish wasn't fit to live. Anne, her family and others had to hide in an attic. For two years she, her family and the others had only each other to rely on. Everyday, she lived in fear that she and the rest of her group would be found, sent to a concentration camp and eventually die. While in the attic, Anne kept a diary. She wrote down her thoughts and her feelings. She wrote about her fears of not growing up to become an adult, not being able to get married or raise a family. In spite of what she was living through she remained positive, optimistic and hopeful about the future. She held on to her belief that "In spite of everything I truly believe that people are good at heart." If I had been the one who was going through all the horrors that Anne, her family and the others faced I don't know if I could have been as strong!
There are people in my life that I consider to be heroes, not because they are perfect but because in the face of adversity they are still good people! The woman who adopted me who I refer to as my "real mother" is a hero to me. She was born in Germany during the nineteen thirties. She lived during and survived WWII. One of her sisters died at the age of six. She lived in fear that she and her family might die and her home was destroyed by bombs. My mother left her family, friends and everything she knew, in Germany, because she wanted her children to have a better life than what she had. She came to this country by boat in nineteen fifty-two. She did not know the English language, she did not know anyone other than my father, and she only had an eighth grade education. This did not stop her from "doing what she had to do", as she puts it. She learned the English language, which she says was no easy task. She learned how to drive so she did not have to rely on others. She worked, full-time in order to manage a home, and at that time, raise two children, put food on the table and clothes on their back's. She worked as a nurse's aid in a hospital and then worked in an institution where she met me, a child with a developmental disability, when I was three years old. In 1977 she adopted me and fought to place me into a regular school, because she realized I had been misdiagnosed and that I had the capability to learn just like any other child. She has faced whatever life has thrown at her. Through it all, she has maintained a positive outlook on life and has never given up hope that things will work out in the end! That is why I consider her a hero!
One of my best friends went through a lot of physical and sexual abuse as a child while another one of my best friends was abused by a former spouse. Each of these woman could have grown up or become bitter, angry and resentful. They could have become just as abusive toward others as their abusers were to them, but they haven't. They could blame others for the abuse they suffered, but they don't. Each of my best friend's career's involves working with people who have developmental disabilities (This is a population where many types of abuse can and does occur because of the vulnerable circumstances the people of this population have been placed in). My best friends work hard to help people with developmental disabilities live happy, productive and fulfilling lives! Both women have come to terms with what they have gone through and instead of just giving up on people and life, they have persevered! My best friends are thoughtful, kind, caring, giving, compassionate, strong and wise women! My life would not be the same without either one of them! I would not be the same without either one of them!
I think what I am trying to say is a person doesn't have to be glamorous, a genius, an athlete, a singer, a movie/television star or a millionaire to be a hero. For me, the only thing a person has to do to be defined as a hero is to come through the bad, whatever life has thrown their way, and still be a good, caring and compassionate person who sees and brings out the good in others and the world around them!
"And then a hero comes along, with the strength to carry on,
and you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive.
So when you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong
and you'll finally see the truth, that a hero lies in you"
~ From the song "Hero" sung by Mariah Carey
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