Rock Lee (from the manga Naruto)

Rock Lee as a child who is being bullied. (www.animegalleries.com (Kaitou Ace))

My hero, the cartoon character Rock Lee, is 17 years of age and was born on November 27 in the hidden village Konoha. He has given many people self-confidence. At a young age, he decided to become a ninja. Many kids his age were going to the ninja academy, a place where you train to become a ninja. Rock Lee went there as well. He soon realized that he couldn't do most of the things his classmates could. Lee could not mold his chakra (Chakra is essential to even the most basic techniques; it is the molding of the present in every cell of the body and the gained from exercise and experience). Since he could not mold his chakra as well as the other kids, he could not use ninjutsu (Ninjutsu (Literally meaning "Ninja Techniques" in Japanese), is a term referring to almost any technique which allows the user to do something that they otherwise would be incapable of doing, including the usage of weapons.) or genjutsu (Genjutsu (Literally meaning "Illusionary Techniques" in Japanese) are techniques that are used in the same fashion as ninjutsu (attacking), requiring chakra and hand seals.). His peers laughed and mocked him. They said he could never be a ninja and that he should give up. But this didn't stop Lee. He graduated just by a hair by using the only thing he could, taijutsu (Taijutsu (Literally meaning "Body Techniques" in Japanese) is a basic form of techniques and refers to any techniques involving the martial arts. You do not need chakra to use taijutsu.)

Rock Lee jump roping. (www.narutoget.com)

After he graduated, 13 year-old Lee was put into a team with two of his classmates, Tenten and Neji, and his sensei, Gai. One day, Lee decided that he should try fighting Neji. He lost by a lot. So he made it a habit. Every day, he battled Neji. Every day, he lost. Tenten said it was because Neji was a genius. Neji thought he was a genius as well. If you thought that made Lee give up, you were wrong. There were some times when he thought he couldn't do anything, how he even became a ninja. Like when he was jump roping late at night. Little did he know his sensei was watching him. At one hundred and eighty jumps, he tripped and fell into a tree. Frustrated, Lee started crying. That's when Gai came out of hiding. He told Lee that he was very different then Neji. It was good, too. Lee thought he was just saying that to be nice. Gai persisted that he wasn't. He told Lee he is a genius of hard work. "Work hard and you'll be the best there is." Was one of the many encouraging things his sensei told him. Rock Lee took his sensei's advice and trained as hard as he could. Of course, he wasn't alone. Gai helped him train to be the best he was as well. Lee thought Gai sensei was so cool; he modeled his hair and his clothing of him. He now sported a green jumpsuit, orange legwarmers and a black bowl haircut. Lee had bandages on his arms from training so hard. Then, the chunin exams came. There are ranks as a ninja. Student in the academy, genin (The rank that all ninjas get once they were out of the academy), chunin (A step above genin, usually gained from taking the chunin exams.), joinin (A step above chunin, and what all the sensei's are. Gai is a jonin.), and hokage (Almost like the "President" of a village.). You see, Lee is still a genin. This was his chance to become a chunin! Like his teammates, Lee enthusiastically signed up for the exams. He did not how that that was the worst possible mistake he could have made.

Rock Lee in his new outfit. (www.narutospot.com (oneeyejack))

After the first and second exams, Lee was entered in the preliminary rounds of the chunin exams since there were too many genin wanting to go into the final round. Lee was paired against Gaara, a mysterious genin from the sand village. Gaara can use sand to attack. Gaara's sand was very fast. Lee could hardly keep up. But if Lee learned anything, it was not to give up. He fought Gaara at his fastest speed even though it was not enough. If Gaara's sand caught him, he would surely get hurt. Lee was not worried. He had more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Lee realized that he had to take off his weights, a creative way Gai thought of training him. He had weights under his legwarmers, slowing him down so he could trick his opponents. Gaara started to get confused. Lee was running so fast you could barely see him! Gaara turned to look at Lee. That was his chance! He kicked Gaara in the skull. Lee was the first person to ever wound Gaara. Sadly, that didn't knock him out. Lee had to resort to his final attack, secondary lotus. It was an effective move. As all good things, it came with its faults. The secondary lotus takes a lot of its user. So you can bet Lee was super tired after he finished! But, at last! He had defeated Gaara! Or so he thought...

Gaara had woken up from the trance and was breathing. It was raspy, but breathing. This was a huge problem for Lee. He couldn't move, due to the secondary lotus. He closed his eyes and braced for impact. The sand came crashing down on half Lee, crushing his left arm and leg to the point where his bones didn't look like bones. The medics quickly took him away from Gaara. Gai fallowed closely, wanting to know what happened to his student. After the medics had looked over the crushed bones, they had bad news. The medics said that Lee could never be a ninja again. The only way he could become a ninja was in an operation that had a fifty-fifty chance of life or death. Gai's eyes rested on his student in sadness. For a month or so, Gai encouraged Lee to take the operation. He vowed to never leave Lee's side, no matter what. Even if the operation killed Lee, Gai would fall with his student. Lee took his faithful sensei's advice and started the operation. He hoped and prayed that he would live. All that hoping and praying paid off because Lee soon recovered. Gai was overjoyed that his student could train again. The training made Lee faster and stronger, physically and mentally. He gained the trust of everyone, including Neji and Tenten. Neji even said "If I were Lee, I would of given up on becoming a ninja. But he didn't. It is his dream. I respect it now." Lee lives off the words he once said. "I will work hard and never give up! That is MY ninja way! And no one will change it!"

My hero, Rock Lee, is a survivor. He had to fight his way through bulling. Many people would have given up. But he didn't, even when Gaara crushed his arm and leg. Lee only had half a chance of living and he took it. Lee can be goofy at times, but he works hard and never gives up. He never backs down from a fight, even if it kills him. He has made me into a stronger person today. I now am more confident and joyful. As Lee said, "Celebrate your youth! You're not going to have it forever!"