Earvin 'Magic' Johnson

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A hero in my opinion is someone who stands up against adversity, conquers tough battles and above all, stands for what he believes in. A hero sets the stage for others and is an amazing role model and leader, and faces life's greatest challenges head on. My hero stood up against one of the biggest killers in the world and, although he faced great criticism, he embraced it head on. My hero was not only the greatest Point Guard to ever play the game of basketball, but the first famous person to face H.I.V. Magic Johnson is the epitome of what a hero should be.  He shone a bright light on the H.I.V community, and brought lots of great awareness towards the situation.  He opened up his own foundation to help research H.I.V. For many of these reasons and more, Magic Johnson is my hero, and someone we should all strive to be more like.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, born August 14, 1959 in Lansing, Michigan was quickly a great basketball player, winning championships in high school. He later went on to attend Michigan state where he led his team to the NCAA tournament for two consecutive years.  In the final game, he met his infamous rival Larry Bird whom he would face many battles with in the NBA. He went on to be drafted first overall in 1979 Despite Magic's size of 6ft 9in he played point guard, an odd position for someone his size. But he never let that affect his play and he went on to win five NBA title's, three MVP's, and be on the greatest team ever, known as the Dream Team. Magic Johnson abruptly retired after an eleven year career in the NBA due to his shocking discovery that he had H.I.V. Today not only is he known as the greatest Point Guard ever, but one of the greatest stories of overcoming H.I.V.

In the year 1991 Earvin Johnson held the biggest press conference of his life.  He came out and announced he was diagnosed with H.I.V, and was forced to retire.  This is ranked amongst the biggest tragedies in sports. He was faced with lots of criticism on how he got the disease. Magic Johnson denied all allegations he faced. He came out later saying how he had received the disease. He later that year received the greatest push in the fight against the disease.  Despite him retiring, he earned the most votes in to be in the 1992 All Star Game. All of his fellow NBA all star friends allowed him to play one last time despite the fact that H.I.V is extremely contagious. He even earned the MVP of the game but his battle was far from won. He wrote books on how the disease affected his life, and that no one person is immune no matter what they think. He currently works as a NBA analyst and lives with H.I.V but he does not let the disease dictate his life, he even has a foundation to help research H.I.V, and information on how to prevent it. He was once asked, "how did the disease change you"? his response, "How did I change the disease is the real question"? He is considered by many to be the spokesperson for H.I.V, and show how drastically the disease can affect your life.

Magic Johnson changed my life and the life of many others, especially those who live with H.I.V.  He is a modern day hero who made a change through his actions and words. Magic Johnson makes me want to be a better basketball player and person. He showed me that you can conquer any obstacle no matter how difficult. He shows that you can still have a great and fulfilling life even with some problems and that they don't have to dictate your life. Magic Johnson is my hero for all of these reasons, and more and he should be someone we all look up too and attempt to be a little more like. He gives all of the people who suffer and live with H.I.V someone to look up to and want to be like.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson is a hero not by choice, but someone who was given the opportunity and embraced it head on and became one of the greatest stories ever. And for these reasons Magic Johnson is my hero and I would one day hope to be half the person Magic Johnson is. In my opinion he is one of the most inspirational people ever, and someone I am proud to say is my hero!