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Amy

by Katy from Elgin

Who is your hero? When someone is asked who their hero is do they automatically say a superhero from a movie or comic that they really like. Even though those stories are filled with superheroes doing heroic deeds, that many people find admirable, there are many also many nonfictional heroes in the world. The real life heroes are the ones that some people don't recognize as being heroic. Heroes possess many traits that seem to go unnoticed especially in the world we live in. Being kind, selfless, caring, helpful, understanding, and always being there when needed seem to be the more obvious traits that heroes show, including my hero. Just like everyone else, I have my own hero that happens to be the rare nonfiction hero. I see all the traits of a hero in her, especially when her family or friends are going through a hard time. My hero is my cousin Amy.

Amy grew up to have Celiac Disease, meaning that she could not have any gluten, and from that her body has never always had all the necessary proteins it needed. Later in life she found out that she had terrible knee problems causing them to dislocate and not pop back into her knee socket. She has three older siblings, so she has always been very knowledgeable because of them and always acted more mature. A little over three years ago her older sister, Sarah, gave birth to her son, Tristan, and Amy is always willing to watch him. We have always been really close, and have had the same thoughts and view points on many of the same subjects.

Being heroic is not just saving the world, being heroic can also be being the person who you can always count on to make you smile when you are down, or just being someone who you know you can talk to and you know that it will stay that way. For as long as I can remember Amy and I spend a week each summer at each other's houses since she lives in Iowa and I live in Illinois. Throughout both weeks we stay up until at least 3:00 a.m. and talk about the most random topics that I know meant a lot to both of us. There have been many things in life that have been hard for both of us, but just talking to her made them all better. I have always looked up to her especially with all of the struggles in life she has gone through like her Celiac Disease and her dislocating knees. Her perseverance is something that I have always admired, and how easy our conversations come, but that may be because we are both socially awkward.

Many people have a certain reason why someone is their hero and the same goes for me. Amy is my hero because she is the one person who is around my age and can relate to my problems. We go through so many family problems, that I know when I need someone to talk to I can always talk to her. This doesn't mean that I don't talk to anybody else, but she is always one of the first people who I talk to. Without her I'm sure I would be a much different person that I am today because even when I was having a really bad year she always was there to talk to. Even many things that I love to do or read come from her persuasion, such as finding my love of The Hunger Games trilogy by Susanne Collins, my interest in some video games, and artistic ideas that I have had.

With having many people in my life who had made a huge difference, my hero would have to be my cousin Amy. She may not be the typical superhero you read in a comic, or even the stereotypical person people think are heroic in movies, but she has made a huge impact on my life. Not having her in my life would make so many things in my life different. Many people say I never look happy even though they never see the rare times I smile, but I'm pretty sure without Amy I would smile way less then I do now. The two weeks I see her in the summer, I feel like I'm always smiling. She is a true hero.

Page created on 2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 9/24/2018 8:06:30 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.