Matthew Walsh

Many people have their own definition for a hero. To me a hero is someone who goes out of their way to take care of you before they even take care of themselves; someone who cares about you and your problems and tries their hardest to help you through it and stop it.

I think it is important to have your own hero. I think everyone should have a hero that they look up to, whether it is a celebrity, friend, or family member. A hero is important to have because you will always know you have someone there for you, and you can set higher goals for yourself to be like your hero, to push yourself.

In my book, Matthew is the hero. He shows many characteristics of a hero throughout the whole book starting from when he had to take care of his sisters when they were little. Matt is writing a letter to Emmy to explain to her everything that happened in their childhood. He writes, "As long as I live, when you need help, you will never need to beg anyone to notice. I won't just hang around thinking I ought to do something. I will act." (Werlin 250). He also said "But how come there don't seem to be any rules about when you ought to help others survive? Rules telling you when that's worth some risk to yourself? Callie and I were working so hard for you, Emmy, but as far as I could see, nobody else cared at all. For any of us." (Werlin 73). From the point when Matt wasn't an only child until the end of the book, he was taking care of his sisters and tried his hardest to make sure nothing ever happened to them.

There are plenty reasons as to why Matthew should be inducted into a hero hall of fame. First of all, he was always there to protect his sisters. No matter what he thought would happen to him, he was there to make sure his sisters were safe from their mom. He was the one to take initiative to try and find a way to get the three of them away from Nikki. He went to the cops after Nikki said Murdoch beat her even though she didn't, knowing he was risking her taking all her anger out on him. Instead of calling for help or waking up anyone else, he was the one who ran to find Emmy at the end when she was missing even though he knew that Nikki could be there and he would be risking a lot of things just by going to where it sounded like Emmy had said she was. Matt would always put Callie, and Emmy before himself even if it meant him getting hurt or risking his safety. In the story, Murdoch says to Matt, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." (Werlin 103).

1) At what point in your life did you realize you needed to get away from your mom? "One of the first times I really remember us being put in danger was when we were on our way home from the day Nikki decided to take us for pancakes and she thought we didn't appreciate it, so she drove into the opposite lane where the traffic was coming straight into us." 2) Who was your hero when you were going through everything with Nikki? "I'd say Murdoch. Ever since I saw him stand up for that little boy in the gas station when I was with Callie and his dad was yelling at him, I knew Murdoch was an amazing person. And when he finally agreed to help us get away and get our freedom, he was the first person who I actually believed would help." 3) Who helped you get through your rough childhood? "My sister, Callie. We had this secret connection where we always understood each other even if we hadn't said it out loud. We could read each other's expressions. We both worked or hardest to keep Emmy safe from Nikki and always had each other's backs. I don't think I would have made it without her." 4) How did you feel once you were put in the custody of your Aunt Bobbie? "Relieved. For once I didn't have to worry about what I would do to keep Callie and Emmy safe when Nikki got home. She was in jail and we got to settle into our new lives." 5) What was your first thought when you found out Emmy was missing from school when you went to pick her up? "I freaked out because I knew it was Nikki. I had always thought that she would come back somehow to get revenge on us for taking her kids away from her and Emmy was the easiest target." 6) Do you really think you would have killed Nikki when you rescued Emmy if Murdoch hadn't showed up? "Honestly, yes. I think I would have because I truly hate her even if she is my mother. She had put us through things I wish nobody would ever have to go through and especially at that moment I had so much rage going through me. I never wanted her to get close to us ever again." 7) What would you have done if you wouldn't have been able to get the custody away from Nikki? "I have no clue. I'm glad I wasn't put in that position. I would have had to figure out a way to keep Callie, and Emmy safe since Nikki would have been furious about being in jail because of us." 8) How did you feel about leaving your sisters and attending UT? "I was excited but nervous. I had never bee so far away from my sisters but I knew that it would be okay. They would survive because they were growing up too." 9) What was going through your mind when Murdoch had told you that he had an abusive parent too? "I'm petty sure nothing. It took me a second to grip what he said. the whole time he had been exactly like me and that might be why I looked up to him so much. He went through the same things I went through which made me realize why he had gone to such a trouble to help us." 10) How do you think your life would have ended up if you would have had a normal mother like most other people? "I'm not quite sure. I think about it sometimes but I realize without everything I went through in my childhood, I wouldn't be the same person I am today. I wouldn't be as strong and independent as I am. there's no changing the past and how people were so I just live in the moment and enjoy where I am now."