Candace Parker

When a person mentions the word, "hero", many people usually picture a man with crazy super powers saving the world and fighting villains. For me, that's not quite what comes to mind. Heroes don't always save the world, but are often ordinary people that many look up to. A person can be considered a hero for acts of bravery, passion, and perseverance. For me, my hero is Candace Parker.

Candace Parker is not only a renown women's basketball star with many awards and national recognitions, but an athletic icon for her passion and hard work. Although she is a pro WNBA star and known by many, her career didn't start out that way. From a young age, Candace had always been very athletic. Excelling in many sports was no surprise to her family because her father played college basketball and her brother played in the NBA. Her constant dedication for the activities she participated in and to her sports are reasons for why I think that she is a stellar athlete. Her qualities of being sportsmanlike, energetic, determined, and composed are what make her different from other players. Despite never considering playing competitive basketball until eighth grade due to her fear that she would never live up to her brother and father, Parker eventually built up enough courage to go for the sport.

Even though Candace started rather late to play the sport, she dedicated much of her time practicing the game and becoming better. Candace practiced with her father at local parks and listened to his critiques and criticism. If her father didn't believe that she was practicing hard enough, he drove away and make her run home. Because of this, Candace always practiced hard even if she was exhausted, which showed how diligent Candace was, and how she always persevered to become a better player. She developed amazing practicing habits, skills, and techniques, which soon resulted in her becoming well known basketball player in her town. In high school, she led her team to many wins and two NCAA titles. In college, she was even better despite coming off of a knee surgery. Candace never let an obstacle come between her and success, which is why she is such an inspiration. Her wins and titles are rather not what makes her my hero, but her overall confidence and hard work she put in the sport.

Her persistence, confidence, and courage to pursue a sport while starting late really inspires me to never give up and how my ability to perform well is not determined by how long I perform a certain skill, but rather by how much I practice and dedicate myself to becoming better. She is proof that I can really become great at anything I put my mind to, and how success is only measured by effort.