Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins

Dophins (wikipedia)

What is empathy? What is an unsung hero? Those were two questions that were asked to me, and I gave an answer. A very long one. I think empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another and also the capacity to understand or feel what another being is experiencing from within based on what you have experienced. I think an unsung hero is someone who becomes a hero for someone and doesn't want or get the fame or credit they deserve. Then they asked me to chose an unsung hero. Keep reading and you'll see who I chose.

Before I tell you who my unsung hero is I'm going to tell you more about empathy. Empathy is ability to understand and share the feelings of another and also the capacity to understand or feel what another being is experiencing from within based on what you have experienced. Empathy involves seeing things from another person's perspective so that you can understand and relate to their feelings. But before you read any further I have to tell that empathy is NOT sympathy. Empathy is showing your feelings. Sympathy is just saying sorry. An example of empathy is if your friend is exhausted after studying for a test for a long time. You know what this feels like so you show empathy and help him/her through it. Now let's go see what an unsung hero is.

As I said before an unsung hero is is someone who becomes a hero for someone and doesn't want or get the fame or credit they deserve. They can be human or an animal. They could been brave in many ways including, heroic, steadfast, quiet, personal, devil-may-care, and frightened bravery. In my opinion I think frightened is the best kind. But back to work, an unsung hero can be anyone. It could be your mom, dad, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandparents, and even YOU. So I used that information to chose my unsung hero.

OK. Finally, what you all have been waiting for. My unsung hero. I chose...... 7 (a pod) of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. What the heck?! Well, these Dolphins protected and saved lifeguard, Rob Howes, and his two daughters from a shark attack. This happened in late 2004 on Ocean Beach, Whangarei, New Zealand. This happened, because Rob Howes was in the water and then he saw a shark. The Dolphins saw them in trouble so they came over. Then the Dolphins herded the swimmers together and circled them protectively for forty minutes, fending of the shark. I chose the Dolphins, because they are showing heroic bravery by saving humans lives.

Now that you know my unsung hero is pod of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, let's recap what you learned. My definition for unsung hero, is someone who becomes a hero for someone and doesn't want or get the fame or credit they deserve. My definition for empathy is, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another and also the capacity to understand or feel what another being is experiencing from within based on what you have experienced. You have also learned information about how a pod of dolphins saved a family. I hope you agree with my definitions and the unsung hero that I chose.