Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey; the well known goofy comedian and actor that can brighten your day with a joke or cartoon face expression. Could it be possible for him to help someone with depression?

James Eugene Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada on January 17, 1962. Growing up he was the youngest child out of four. His mother being bed ridden when he was a kid was his inspiration to entertain. "I used to go in there and do impressions of praying mantis, and weird things, and whatever. Id bounce off the walls and throw myself down the stairs to make her feel better." (Jim Carrey Biography). Later when Carrey's dad lost his job, everyone in the family had to get jobs, making him work at some of Toronto's Comedy Clubs. "Is the anger and the anxiety that Carrey has had to battle all these years a source for his Comedy?" (CBS NEWS). "Yeah. Absolutely. People need motivation to do anything. I don't think human beings learn anything without desperation," says Carrey. "Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything or creating anything. Period. If you ain't desperate at some point, you ain't interesting." (CBS NEWS). Throughout his life, Jim Carrey has always been optimistic. Carrey turned his anger on his dad losing his job, and channels it into something that makes him happy and others around him smile soon making this his career.

Carrey acted in many movies throughout his career. Some of his most popular movies include: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective(1994), Man on the Moon(1999), Dumb and Dumber(1994), The Truman Show(1998), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(2004). "Golden Globe Award for best performance by an actor in a motion picture--drama for The Truman Show, 1999."(BIO.COM). He didn't just perform for his mom and at the local comedy clubs; he was the class clown. "One day, a teacher told him: "If you think you're so funny, Mr. Carrey, why don't you come up to the front of the class and try it from here?" Carrey was only too happy to oblige. He went in front of the class and delivered a wonderfully funny and complete act. The class loved it. That was the last time the teacher ever asked him to perform." (BIO.COM).

Another way Jim Carrey was a hero, was that he possessed the trait of perseverance. "Carrey understands desperation. At 17, he was struggling to support his parents, working comedy clubs in Toronto. And at 21, he'd already made his first appearance on "The Tonight Show," doing impersonations. The act was hugely successful, but he didn't want to become famous imitating other people." (CBS NEWS). He worked to save his family from debt and finally made it to a show which he sprouted his career from.: In Living Color(1990-1994). Jim Carrey also struggled with depression. "Carrey's father, a saxophone player who worked as an accountant to pay the bills, lost his job when Carrey was 12. The day he turned 16 he dropped out of high school to start chipping in with the family finances."(PEOPLE.COM). So from the start Carrey had to persevere through tough times. He also had struggle with past relationships. "Throughout the turbulent relationships, the depression he battled since childhood lingered on in the background. "I was on Prozac for a long time. It may have helped me out of a jam for a little bit, but people stay on it forever. I had to get off at a certain point because I realized that, you know, everything's just okay," Carrey told CBS. "There are peaks, there are valleys," he added. "But they're all kind of carved and smoothed out, and it feels like a low level of despair you live in. Where you're not getting any answers, but you're living okay. And you can smile at the office. You know? But it's a low level of despair. You know?" This taught me alot; also pertains into why Jim Carrey is my hero and how it relates to me.

Jim Carrey is selflessly optimistic. Smiling when down, and always giving us a derpy grin. It taught me to be happy so that even when someone is having a rough day...maybe my one smile can cheer them up like Jim's. His perseverance to work hard - even when being in a state of depression, made me want to work harder in school and try harder with my goals. Unlike Jim Carrey, depression runs in my family. Almost everyday you see me smile, laugh, and goof off a little. Then some days I get so low...and people around me notice. Jim Carrey's example taught me to smile through life even on my worst days. Like the great saying, "Not all hero's wear capes" (Anonymous), you really don't. You didn't need to save someone from a burning building, or end a war. You can inspire people with jokes and life stories like Jim Carrey; and that is why Jim Carrey is my hero. "Jim Carrey."

Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 31 May 2016. . "Jim Carrey." Famous Birthdays. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2016. "29 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Jim Carrey." AOL Moviefone. N.p., 14 Nov. 2014. Web. 31 May 2016.