My Mom, Dad, Uncle, Sister...

S. Sikorski from Center Valley writes:

My hero is my mom, Anne Sikorski. She is not just an ordinary mom, but to me she's a "supermom". The reason I chose "supermom" is because she can do many things besides what she is supposed to do. For example, if I have to do a project she comes up with awesome ideas in less than 5 minutes. Another thing, she's an art teacher/teacher/mom/great friend/advice guru/many more. You may still be wondering why I chose my mother as my hero. Well, she's not just a hero, she's a really great person who cares about me and hundreds of other children every day.

She was born the third of four girls on December 30th, many years ago. She says she's older than dirt, but I don't believe it. She was born and grew up in Bethlehem, PA. in a nice cozy house on a giant sycamore tree-lined street which I like to visit. My grandparents, her parents, still live there. They have lived in that same house for 50 years.

She enjoys drawing, painting, singing, and dancing with her boys. Dancing is done in the living room and becomes a family affair. Even Sophie, our pup, tries to dance, but she's not as good as our last dog, Wjotek, the wonder dog. Once, for Christmas, my mother made my brother and me learn old folk songs by Woody and Arlo Guthrie and made us sing after dinner for all the relatives at my aunt's house. I felt really stupid, but I did get a shiny new silver dollar in a velvet pouch from one relative, so I guess it wasn't so stupid.

The one person who reminds me the most of my mom is Leonardo da Vinci. I think they are so similar because they both like the same things. For example, they both enjoy painting, architecture, sketching, inventing, and mathematics. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you she is awesome at doing really hard math problems---impossible math problems and puzzles.

Marcus from Center Valley writes:

My assignment was to choose someone who is a a hero to me. When I hear the word "hero," I think of someone who has inspired you to do something, someone who has made an important impact on your life and someone who you think is doing something special and who you think deserves recognition. When I think about it, a hero doesn't even have to be human. Your hero could be anything or anyone!

Robert Giordano was born in Hadley, New York. He was born in a family of six children. One of the things he enjoyed doing with his family was going to his family's cabin on the Sacandaga Lake. Every day he walked 1/4 mile to get to school. When he finished High School, he began college at Syracuse University.

My hero is similar to another hero of mine, my mom, because he is kind, smart, gentle, and mentally strong. For example, when I need help with my home work, he always helps me out. He is especially talented at math. My father is also a very unique hero because he is all mine. A lot of kids have a famous sport's player as a hero, like Shaquille O'neal who everyone raves about. No, hardly anyone knows about my hero, and I like it like that.

My father has accomplished lots of things like getting very good grades in school and college. He also is achieving things for his job. He makes me happy because he plays games with me and does other stuff with me. That is the best achievement he has accomplished.

My hero has inspired me to accomplish things that are more than what is expected from me. He challenges me to do everything that is possible to do. My efforts are paying off everyday. One of the things that has resulted from me doing more is that I always get very good grades in school. I frequently think about how lucky I am to have my dad (and my mom, who has also inspired me,) in my life.

Heather from Champlin writes:

My hero is my aunt Diane Schumaker because she has inspired me to be kind and caring to every person on this Earth. She has influenced me to become a great student in school and enjoy every day of life.

My aunt has a college degree. She is still in school. She has 2 lovely children, although they are grown up. She plans to continue school and get her masters. She is kind, funny, and enjoyable to be around. She is very understanding about the choices I make. She always tells me to reach for my goals and never give up.

Kimberly from Champlin writes:

I chose my aunt Denise Hedden. I chose her because she is so outgoing and thoughtful. You can always depend on her, no matter what the problem. I also picked her because she is an over-achiever and is always exceeding her goals. That's why I think she is such a great mom too!

I chose a story that shows how good Denise is with kids because this was way before she even thought of having kids. It happened quite a few years ago when my mom's side of the family was up north in Hackensack at my Grandma's house. My brother decided to bring his lincoln logs to play with and he had this big mat with an Indian Reservation on it. I thought lincoln logs were fun to build with so I sat down next to him and started making a house. The next thing I know Denise is sitting by us helping build too. She was always fun and was game to do anything. She saw the big map with the Indians and she started saying, "The Indians are coming, the Indians are coming," and my brother got very upset. I don't know why, but we all got a real kick out of it. I think you really had to be there.

Denise is such a great aunt and she has such an impact on me and all her other nieces and nephews. She is a big encouragement because she is someone who absolutely does not give up. She strives to achieve, which is something she has taught me to do. She has also shown me how responsible a person can be; having her own business and having her little daughter makes me look up to her.

Robert from Center Valley writes:

My hero is my dad, Robert Jr. He is the seccond Robert in my family. I am the third. My dad is 34 years old, has brown hair, glasses and is 6'4". He was born in 1966. He is fun, too. He smokes cigars and occasionally a pipe.

Without my dad I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably go crazy. Of course, I love my dad and he loves me. We've been through a lot together. When I was six months old, my dad got a divorce from my mom, Carolee. Then when I was about five, he married to a person named Laurie Ann. He was married to her about three or four years, then they divorced. We moved to Sparta, NJ, until my dad got sick of that place, and moved to where we are now.

The reason I picked my dad to be my hero is because he saved my life a long time ago. I was swimming on a beach, with my floaters, and a big wave came up behind me, and caught me by surprise. I drifted out, away from the beach. My dad was looking for me when he saw me way out there. He swam out to me, and brought me back to the shore. I was fine, thanks to my dad.

Another reason why I picked my dad is because he is the only person who knows me as well as he does. He can predict my every move if he wants too. He pays the bills, and basically runs the house. He is the best at what he does. Raising me.

Laura from Center Valley writes:

I think a hero is a person who has an influence on your life. My grandfather, Edward Poplasky, is a hero to me for several reasons. He never gives up. My grandfather is nearly blind and can't do many things for himself. Even so, when something needs to be repaired, he takes it apart and tries to restore it by feeling the parts, deciding where they might go. I have to say that most of the time it doesn't work, but sometimes he succeeds. At that point, he asks someone to help him, which I think takes a lot of courage, especially if you need help with things that frequently. I try to help him with numerous things, which is why he now refers to me as his "eyes." He is also a good influence because he doesn't give up until he's tried his hardest, and he's not afraid to ask for help.

My grandfather served in the war, and he has three children. He also has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My grandfather has arthritis in both of his knees. He was recently in the hospital for an operation on his back that would ease the pain in his legs. Before the operation, he could barely walk, and he had a hard time standing for extended periods of time. His back constantly bothered him. Now he has recovered. He can walk longer distances, and stand for increased periods of time.

Edward Poplasky has influenced my life in many ways. He has taught me never to give up, not even in the toughest spots. I have also learned that it is helpful if you have a positive attitude about everything. Try to make the best of things, and to be an optimist. Also, don't be afraid to ask for help, but try to do it by yourself first. My grandfather taught me that it doesn't hurt to try.

Asa from Zionsville writes:

For every person the definition of a hero is different. To me, a hero is a person who can be idealized by someone else. They must be a person with moral and intellectual strength, someone who can influence others in a good way and have physical strength and bravery on top of it all. My grandfather has all of these qualities and more.

Julius Fritz was born to parents who came across the Atlantic ocean and passed through Ellis Island. They lived a simple life in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Jules worked hard and got good grades and was the first in his family to get a college degree. He studied architecture and structural engineering at the University of Texas. He and his family must have been very proud of him. He was then drafted into WWII.

Because his grandparents grew up in Austria, Jules learned to speak high German while living at home. With this skill, he was assigned to a lead tank in a tank battalion during the war. He was put there so that he could translate German for his fellow officers on the ground. His tank was one of the first to enter one of the concentration camps to inform the captives that the war was over. After the war, he was a translator at the Nuremburg trials for one of the ranking Nazi officers.

To endure a war must require a lot of bravery. This courage is amazing to me. After the war, Julius was married and raised four children. Liz, Barb, Jeff, and Rich all love and respect their father very much. I believe he was a good father and has taken me under his wing to teach me some important lessons too. One important thing he always tells me is to work hard but have fun while I'm doing it. This has helped me to accept hard work and is something I remember everyday.

By writing these paragraphs, I've realized how much I appreciate my grandfather and what he's done in his life. He is everything a hero should be.

Guari from Springfield, Virginia writes:

A few weeks ago my uncle had an accident and had to go to the E.R. His car is in horrible condition. When my mom looked at the car, it made her cry. His knee and arm were injured. The doctors put a metal rod in his arm.

My uncle has a daughter who is seven and a son who is two months old, and a wife who is very nice and caring.

My uncle is my hero because he is holding the pain inside of him. I would never be able to do that. He is being strong for his family. Every Saturday my family goes to see him. I have always looked up to him. Before he got injured, he used to take me, my brother and his daughter wherever we wanted to go. He is so nice and considerate. I want to be like him when I grow up. I hope he feels better soon.

James from Kellyville writes:

The person who has infuenced me in a positive way is my uncle Paul. He told me to stay in school because there is nothing but work outside of school and we all know that it is hard to keep a job. I don`t what to stay in school but the way he said it made me want to stay in school.

My uncle told me that if I wanted to I could come and lift weights with him and my other uncle Casey at one of the gyms on their way to work. At my house we don't have any weights, so he made some out of cinder blocks and a metal pole so I can lift weights at my house.

Uncle Paul sometimes helps me on my home work, if I'm at his house or my Dad's work. We try to get my work done, most of the time pre-algebra. He helps me on my science. In Mr. Reed's class we are learning the amendments. He is helping me on the twenty-seven amendments. Every once in a while Mr. Reed throws in some stuff about the President and what he does for a living. All in all he's a great guy!

Marie Adkins writes about an entire family of heroes:

The people I admire most in this world are the members of the Humiston family. I admire then because even though the father/husband of this family was diagnosed with cancer, they fought through and even in hard times were able to help out a friend in need, even when it seemed like such a little need compared to their tragedy.

When my family first moved to the area, Mr. Mike Humiston had been diagnosed with cancer and was given only two more months to live if he did not go through chemo. There are so many things they did even though they only had very little time with their father/husband. They always went to church to do their callings, even though they couldn't share it with their father, and they even came on Wednesday nights when our youth group did little service projects for our community. One example of this is that my youth group made cookies and were going to take them to the elderly people of our church. Even though Mike was on his death bed, his children still went to the activity and had a good time.

This family influenced my life by helping me learn not to let tragedies bring me down and that even though life sends lemons your way, just to make lemonade.

Monica, from Springfield, Virginia, writes:

My hero is my brother Freddy. He is awesome. He is 21 years old and he still lives with our parents. He takes my sisters and me to eat lunch or dinner. He helps me on my homework when I ask him for help. He takes care of my sisters and me, and tells us what's right and wrong when we ask.

How my brother will change my life in the future is he showed me that you have to be friends with everyone for them to be nice with you. Also he taught me other things like responsibility. That's what will change my life in the future.

Mike from Porter writes:

My hero is Walter Marcziniac. He is also my grampa. He is very nice, athletic and funny.

He is my hero because he always helps me with my problems. When I am sad he will cheer me up again.

He is also very good at bowling. He tells me exactly how to do better and get strikes.

He is funny and sarcastic. My gramma doesn't like that, but I do. Like if I say I got a hair cut he'll ask which one.

So to finish this off, my grampa is my hero and I'm stickin' to it.

Melissa from Glasford writes:

My hero is my dad. He has the ability to put down in poetic words the thoughts that make people think and feel good about their fellow man. He is a poet, teacher, artist, peacemaker, writer, explorer, and lifesaver; as such he is a hero's hero to those who read his works.

He has written about the real heroes in our society. His words are a tribute to those who make a difference in our world. He writes of the struggle between our races, the victims of crime, the holocaust. . . .substance abuse, and so many more too numerous to mention.