Ryan Wayne White

(www.google.com)

Ryan Wayne White: A Hero. What is a hero? A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal (www.dictionary.com). Ryan was a person of courage, determination, and positive attitude.

Ryan was born on December 6, 1971 in Kokomo, Indiana. During the time when Ryan was diagnosed with AIDS at age 13, and his death at age 19, he was on many television shows and also had a movie made about him. When he was just three days old, he was diagnosed with Hemophilia. Hemophilia is when your blood does not clot. He was also diagnosed with AIDS when he was 13 years old. Ryan's story also taught the whole world about AIDS.

He had many difficulties with school. He began a series of court battles for nine months, while he was attending class by telephone. Eventually, he won the rights to go to school, but the prejudice was still there. To people, listening to media, facts were not enough. "People wanted 100% guarantees. There are not 100% guarantees in life..." said Ryan(www.ryanwhite.com)

At school Ryan had separate restrooms, no gym, separate drinking fountain, and disposable eating utensils and trays. Going along with his discrimination, "Ryan White" jokes were made, lies about him biting people were going around, some restaurants threw his dishes away, and his school locker was even vandalized.

Ryan White has inspired me in many ways. He was a very brave person. When things get hard in life, just keep going, never give up. That will help me accomplish many goals in life. I will always remember this report I did on Ryan White.

What is a hero? A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.(www.dictionary.com) Ryan is a perfect example of this definition of "hero." He is a hero to me, people who knew him, and people who have read or heard about him.