Helen Keller

In my opinion, a hero is someone who devotes their time and energy to important causes to improve the lives of others. Someone to rely on for help, guidance or even encouragement. The one who best fits that description, for me, is Helen Keller. She was a deaf-blind woman who achieved more by being herself than any other celebrity I know. Her life story is both meaningful and inspirational.

Helen as a child (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller)

Helen Keller was born on June 27th 1880 in Tuscumbia, Northwest Alabama to Captain Arthur Henley Keller and Kate Adams. They lived in a simple, white house built by Helen's grandparents in 1820. Captain Keller worked as a cotton plantation owner and editor of the "North Alabamian", a local weekly newspaper while Kate made her own butter, lard, bacon and ham to save money. In February 1882, two years after she was born, Helen fell ill. For many days, after her illness was diagnosed a mystery, Helen was expected to die but her fever diminished and her family, thinking their daughter to be healthy again, were grateful. However, soon after Helen was pronounced well, Kate began to realize that Helen no longer responded to the ring of the dinner bell and how Helen didn't blink when water went in her eyes. Eventually Arthur and Kate became aware that Helen's illness had left her both deaf and blind. With the Keller's not being very wealthy and having three other children to take care of, Helen's two older half-brothers and her little sister, Helen's care was too much for them to handle on their own. On March 3rd 1887, Anne Sullivan, a teacher with poor eyesight, was introduced to Helen and her family. Anne and Helen soon became inseparable and not long after Anne's arrival, Helen was finally able to properly communicate with others thanks to Anne's teaching abilities.

Helen's graduation picture (gardenofpraise.com/ibdkell.htm)

One of Helen's greatest qualities, to me, would have to be how determined she was to learn. Most children would have just given up, but not Helen. She wanted to be able to express herself to her peers without having to use her fingers. I also admire her talent. She became a terrific author and toured around the world to raise money for blind people, all the while never letting her disability stop her. Another great quality that I found in Helen was her intelligence. She was the very first deaf-blind person to attend and graduate, with honours, from college. Also, Helen was not only encouraging but inspiring. She encouraged a lot of people with her disability by inspiring them to believe in themselves, making them understand how important it was not to let something that they had no control over stop them from doing what they wanted to do.

Helen with her teacher, Anne Sullivan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller)

Being blind most of her childhood years really isolated Helen from the real world. However, in 1900, Helen entered Radcliff College, where she was granted the honour of being the first deaf-blind person to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree. College life was very difficult for Helen but during her years at Radcliff, she started to write a book about her life, titled "The Story of My Life". It was published in 1903 and is now considered a classic. Throughout Helen's life, she wrote 12 novels in total. After she was introduced to the public eye, many books were written about Helen's experiences, such as "Out of the Dark" and "Deliverance". Also, a documentary, a drama, a play and a movie were made on Helen and Anne. For several years, Helen toured the world, giving lectures to the public about her journey through life and raising money for the American Foundation for the Blind.

In 1921, Helen's mother died, leaving Helen in the custody of Anne but not long after, Anne became ill and died on October 20th 1936. After the death of her mother and teacher, Helen moved in with Anne's secretary, Polly Thomson. It was then that Helen's latest novel, "Teacher", a story about Anne Sullivan, was published. In 1957, Polly had a stroke and died March 21st 1960. By the time Helen was 81 years old, she had suffered many strokes and could no longer be in the public eye. In the year of 1964, Helen received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was put in the Women's Hall of Fame. Helen Keller died June 1st 1968, in Arcan Ridge, Connecticut, at the age of 88. Her ashes were put in a urn which was later buried next to Anne Sullivan and Polly Thomson.

Helen Keller (www.pocanticohills.org/ womenenc/keller3.html)

Helen Keller was, to many people, including myself, a true hero. She stood up for what she believed in and wasn't ashamed or afraid to be different. She had a way of making others look past her disability, to see her as who she truly is and not just as a person who cannot see or hear. Although I myself have never suffered from a disability, I felt a very emotional connection to Helen Keller's story for I too have had to overcome certain difficulties. I will always remember and admire her. It's a shame that I wasn't around to meet her but I'm glad I had the chance to study her heroic journey.