Jose R. Martinez

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When you're young you don't really think about the all the worst case scenarios that can come from your actions. Sometimes we take our lives for granted without taking in consideration that we should cherish every moment. Well, Jose Martinez had to think about these things at a young age and became the hero he is today. He declares, "I don't have a weapon in my hand, and I don't have a uniform on my body, but my uniform now is my scars and weapon is my words, so I'm still serving" ("Boardwalk Empire' And More In Hollywoodland"). In this article "J. R. Martinez", it provides details about when he decided to fight in the war in Iraq when he was younger. After that experience he thought it would be good to give back to other troops. Before winning "Dancing with the Stars'' he was severely injured in the war. After his injury he realized that other people may be going through his same issue and he could help them get through it. He spent a lot of time in a hospital bed trying to recover from his incident. April 5, 2003 he tragically drove with three other soldiers over a landmine. He survived with painful injuries while the others only had minor injuries. A hero must possess selflessness, a positive attitude, and must be brave. Which is putting others before yourself, finding the good in every situation, and be daring in difficult situations, all of which Jose does.

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            Part of what makes Jose Martinez a hero is because he's always selfless when it comes to helping others. Once Martinez realized the affect he had on others he stated, "I said to myself, 'I think this is my gift. I'm going to share my gift with other wounded troops because a lot of these guys are arriving here without a clue of what to expect. I've been through it. Maybe I can just kind of help them and prepare them on what to expect.' So I started visiting patients on the wards every day," ("Collins"). He gives motivational speeches to patients whenever he can find the time. Martinez travels around the country to help motivate others. According to the article, "J.R. Martinez and His Mother: The Journey Home to Dalton", they give us insight into how Jose has shown heroic trait at a young age by stating: "J.R. had $60 he'd collected in tips that he wanted to give to his grandmother, cousins and sister, Maria". When he was a child he tried to help his family as much as he could he even worked a restaurant, The Italian Garden. J.R. could have spent his money that he earned for on himself, but he put his family first and wanted to take care of them. He has tried to help others in as many ways as possible, and wants to continue doing so throughout his life.

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Even though J.R. has been through a lot, somehow he can amazingly manage to keep a positive attitude. After Martinez recovered from his surgeries became slightly depressed but then he had an epiphany, "That was the turning point for me. I started looking at what happened to me as a blessing. It made me realize if people wanted to be with me, they were going to do it for who I am, not what I look like" ("J. R. Martinez"). His injury caused him to have major burns that eventually lead his entire appearance to change, but he found a way to use that to his advantage to inspire others. A lot of people could look at his incident as something life ruining, but he maintained a positive attitude and found good in the situation. In an interview, J.R. explains how he gets through the day by saying, "Although a lot of these guys say that I inspire them, a lot of them inspire me," Martinez said. "When I'm having a bad day, I just think about a lot of them, and I just think, 'what am I sitting here complaining about these guys have gone through so much more'" ("Collins"). Jose's recovery was truly a miracle; his incident was so tragic he's lucky to be alive. He realizes that he should be grateful for the life he's living. He constantly keeps in mind that it could have been worse, which is why he remains positive. After all that Jose has been through its amazing that he manages to keep a smile on his face. He knows that they're other people who have been through more than what he has and he always tries to find the light in every situation.

Another characteristic of a hero that J.R. encompasses is that he is very brave. Jose's self-confidence is noticed by many people that know of him or have seen him on television. Collins claims, "When he hits the streets, and he wants injured service members, burn victims and other people with disfigurements to know that that's OK. In fact, he embraces the strange looks" ("Collins"). There are a lot of people in society that like to judge others based on their appearance, but J.R. decided to stand up against that. It's very easy to become insecure but he remains poised, disregarding his new appearance. Another illustration of bravery is shown in an article, "When I was injured, I was unsure how society would accept me ... People were lined up on both sides of the street. Those people didn't care what I looked like. They were just happy to see me ... I'll never forget it" ("J. R. Martinez"). Martinez was insecure when he was in the hospital, but he still faced that fear. He realized that appearance shouldn't and doesn't matter as much as many people might think it does. He wants people to know that everyone should always be comfortable with being themselves. Jose's bravery has made a difference in many people's lives through his motivational speaking. He wants people to see that personality shines through to the outside, and that outer beauty shouldn't be a necessity.

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            He has been such an inspiration throughout his entire life trying to have a useful impact on many which he succeeded. He has been through many hard-hitting obstacles but somehow he can bravely walk around like nothing is wrong and remain with a positive attitude. Jose has always done his best to be an amazing hero towards his community. He has a motivation to help others in any way he can regardless of what he's been through which shows a trait that some people lack. J.R. has spoken with people that were going through the same problems as him and inspired them that it's okay to be who they are. I think his selflessness to lend a hand to anyone even if they're a stranger or not, also shows how much of an inspiration his is to not only me, but everyone. He doesn't care about the fame that comes along with his story. Jose just wants to motivate others by his story and show people that may be going through the same dilemma. Everything Jose Rene Martinez does is for the benefit of others and that's what makes him a deserving of being called a hero.

Works Cited

"Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014..

"'Boardwalk Empire' And More In Hollywoodland." 'Boardwalk Empire' And More In Hollywoodland. N.p., 9 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 May 2014. .

Collins, Elizabeth M. "ARMY.MIL, The Official Homepage of the United States Army." From Hospital to Hollywood: A Soldier's Story. N.p., 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 08 May 2014. .

"J.R. Martinez and His Mother: The Journey Home to Dalton." Local News ATOM. N.p., 5 Jan. 2012. Web. 08 May 2014. .

"J. R. Martinez." Newsmakers. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Biography in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.

"My Story in Words." N.p., 2012. Web. 7 May 2014.