Helen Keller

Helen Keller

A hero is someone who shows determination, supporting and aiding those that are in need. Helen Keller was the sort of hero who had a disability, but it didn't stop her. She did everything in her power to accomplish her goals.

Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When Helen was an infant, she was diagnosed with a brain fever and it left her blind and deaf. When Helen got a little older, she became uncivilized and uncontrollable.

Later on, when Helen was seven years old, she met Anne Sullivan who became her teacher. Anne Sullivan was a graduate of the Perkins School for Blind and she helped Helen with reading and writing.

Helen Keller as a young girl.

The more Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller were together, the more they became friends. Soon Helen was able to spell a great number of words. One day, Helen and Anne went to a pump and when Anne pumped the water, Helen felt it and was able to connect the word "water" with the actual thing. Helen learned how to read and write. In 1890, she truly wanted speak. When she was 18, Helen went to Cambridge School for Young Ladies so that she would be prepared to go to Radcliffe College. Helen's knowledge led her to get honorary doctoral degrees from both Temple University and Harvard University. During college, Helen began to write such things as: "The Story of My Life, "T"he World I live In," "Out of the Dark," "Let Us Have Faith," "The Open Door" and many others.

Even though Helen wrote a lot of books, she also contributed her writing to magazines and newspapers. Her writing was mostly about being blind and deaf, social issues, and the rights of women. Helen also earned many awards, such as Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross, Japan's Sacred Treasure, Philippines' Golden Heart, Lebanon's Gold Medal of Merit, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Some of these awards were given to her for helping the blind. When it was her 50th anniversary from Radcliffe, she got the Alumnae Achievement Award.

Helen Keller as a young lady.

During her lifetime, Helen met many important people, like Grover Cleveland, Charlie Chaplin, John F. Kennedy, Mark Twain, and many others. She also did everything that she could to show what people who are disabled could accomplish. Helen also liked to help those who were less fortunate than herself, and she assisted people in other countries too. Her longest trip to visit people that were blind was in 1955 when she went on 40,000-mile trip all through Asia. She went to 35 countries on five continents. When Helen traveled, she brought encouragement to those who are blind. In 1936, Anne Sullivan died and Helen got a new person to assist her. The women's name was Polly Thomson, and in the 1960s, Helen got Mrs. Winifred Corbally to help her.

In 1961, Helen received the Lions Humanitarian Award for her services of humanity and for inspiriting people. In 1965, she was one of the 20 women elected to be in the Women's Hall of Fame. Now she is honored in the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness field. Then on June 1, 1968, Helen Keller died in Arcan Ridge, just a few weeks before her 88th birthday.

Helen Keller is a person who is so remarkable in many special ways. Helen Keller is my hero because, at first, she was wild when she was younger, but as she got older, she became good-hearted and loving to those people who were less fortunate than herself. She also created many foundations, cared about people and won many awards. Helen Keller's story is known all across the world in many different countries and continents. For all of her complicated achievements, Helen Keller will always be remembered as the blind and deaf girl who changed the world.