Justin Bieber

MY HERO UNIT 1/5: WHAT IS A HERO? 1. Characteristics of a hero: a) generous, honest, intelligent, non-judgmental, helpful b) A hero is a person who is seen by most people as somebody who is there to save other people or animals from danger anytime. c) Yes, my definition differs from the ones in the dictionary. The definitions in the dictionary are written by people who study English and whose purpose is to educate other people - they mustn't personalize words too much. My definition wasn't made for that reason. The thing is, the perception of a hero has changed in the last few decades due to increasing awareness of sexism and change of people's beliefs. For example: in 1980's, a hero was believed to be someone who is strong, brave, physically attractive, usually male (although there are exceptions such as Cat Woman), someone who never disappoints and occasionally saves the world. People were influenced by movies and literature, especially children. A lot has changed since then - nowadays, heroes must be sensitive, lovable, well mannered, humble, independent and they must act like gentleman. It's not about saving the world anymore - now they have to please women in any way possible, no matter how humiliating it gets. I think that comes from belief that women must always get what they want. In my opinion,today's perception of a hero is still too idealistic and cruel towards men, but is definitely better than it was 30 years ago - qualities admired today are better than those in the past. 2. Yes, the person fits the definition. That person could definitely be my hero because he does things he doesn't have to in order to make others happy. I believe this person should be known for his kindness and capability to see the real problems in the world. Despite everything I have already said, everyone has their own ideas of a hero and I think that is good because it keeps diversity among people and prevents them from losing their best qualities. 3. I can't say his name. He is a person who is well known in the media and his name usually has a negative side to it, which is why I won't say it - people believe everything they hear and refuse to create their own, personal opinion. I have multiple heroes in my life. For example, my bestfriend is very important hero to me, because she was the only one that always saw me the way I am even when everyone else hated me - I admire that quality. My third hero is my grandmother, who has NEVER done anything selfish but always knew when someone deserved to be served the truth. She helped me to become the person I am today and I love myself because there is so much of her inside me. Of course I could find a dozen other heroes, but I think this text is already too long.

My Hero Unit 2/5: Who, what, why? 1. The hero in this story is Melinda Rose Hathaway. She was a real person and she fought cancer. She died in 1996 when she was 15 years old. 2. Melinda created a website for children with cancer and their families where she provided them with information and hope. Her father helped her fill the website with links, thought provoking pages, personal information, and fun. 3. Melinda is important for the writer because she inspired him and he found out about her when she was still alive. Melinda is clearly writer's hero.

This is Justin Bieber performing on stage. (This picture was created by Getty Images.))

My Hero Unit 3/5: My hero is ... 1. a) My hero is a famous singer. He's 22 years old and his name is Justin. He is from Canada and he came to Atlanta (USA) when he was 14 years old. b) My hero has inspired and helped a lot of people. He donated a lot of money to several organizations that help poor people, he helped build school in Guatemala with his own hands, he donates 1$ to charity from every ticket he sells. Most inspiring is story of Avalanna Routh. She was a 7 year old girl who was suffering from brain tumor. Her biggest dream was to meet Justin and her wish came true, Justin was meeting her regularly to play with her. When she passed away in 2012, Justin dedicated his concert to her. Justin is known as one of the most generous celebrities - he talks to his fans whenever he can and he is always grateful. Sometimes, he even takes lucky fans to social events with him. In the past, Justin has broken a lot of musical records and has become one of the most successful people on the planet. Despite problems with the law back in 2014, he has made his dream come true - he influenced not only teenagers but also adults with his music. c) Justin is important for me because he has helped me to express myself through the music. He showed me that it is most important thing in life to believe in your dreams and be yourself and that it is possible to stay humble and understanding despite being famous. I learned that you mustn't judge people for their mistakes and that giving is a greater blessing than receiving.

Unit 4/5: What about the others? 1. I have already described Avalanna Routh's story. Justin met her in February 2012 after he learned she was in hospital fighting brain cancer. She was a fan of him and her dream was to meet him. He was supposed to only visit her, but they played together for hours. He visited her multiple times and called her Mrs Bieber. He took her to his concert once and talked about her in his Believe movie after she passed away in September 2012. After her death, he made her 'one less lonely girl' on his concert in Arizona (a tradition where Justin's concert team walks through the audience and picks one girl, then they take her onto the stage where she sits on the chair and Justin hugs her, gives her flowers and sings the song One Less Lonely Girl to her). I've decided to talk about this story because it's very beautiful and because I can compare it to the other story I found online today. 2. http://chrisaiff.squarespace.com/more-about-chris/ Today I was on Facebook as I usually am in the mornings. I saw a video about people who know they are going to die soon. I clicked on the link to the Youtube video that said My Last Days. It was short online documentary about people with deadly diseases that was filmed in 2012 and 2013. I watched all of the videos and my favorite was the story about Christopher Aiff. He was 22 years old and he lived in Cape Town, South Africa. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer in August of 2011. He made a bucket list of things he wanted to do before his death and people also donated money to help him with that. He was spreading positive messages and making people happy. He passed away in May 2014 but his messages live on in the shape of tattoos his friends and other people got in the memory of him. Both stories inspired me because they have a positive message. Avalanna and Christopher died young because of cancer, but made their dreams come true with help from others. The difference is Avalanna's story went public while Christopher's didn't. I think we should stop complaining about our problems and focus on people like Avalanna and Christopher because they spread so much positivity despite facing death everyday.