Stephen Hawking

Stephen with ALS (Age of Autism (http://www.ageofautism.com/2016/01/stephen-hawking))

Stephen Hawking is our hero because he's lived with ALS, while earning many awards. Stephen Hawking's life has given him many challenges, but he never let that stop him from reaching his goals . Even though he went through ALS for most of his life, he hasn't let his disability stop him from achieving great things. Although most people see a hero as a person that does courageous things, Stephen Hawking's story is a bit different, he never let the roadblocks in his life stop him from being that person he is today.

Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942. He was born during World War 2, in Oxford, England. Growing up, Hawking was extremely smart. He had great interest in the sky and space, which led him to the University of Oxford. He went on to study physics at the University. Shortly after his 21st birthday, he was sadly diagnosed with ALS. (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) it affected his Nervous System causing him to become more crippled day by day. The pain wasn't any better, it was as if he was getting stabbed in the back with a rusted dagger that went deeper into his skin each day. Soon was put in a wheelchair and starting losing control over his whole body. Yet that never stopped him from he accomplished many amazing things at Cambridge.

Stephen Hawking before ALS. (Tony's Huddle)

Being a world-renowned physicist and dealing with a crippling disease, Hawking has accomplished much in his lifetime. He has been awarded the Albert Einstein award, has even wrote over a dozen books, with for movies about his work and on top of that he has changed the world forever with his knowledge. A man has wrote, "Despite his debilitating illness, he has done groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology, and his several books have helped to make science accessible to everyone" (Gyllenhaal). Accomplishing these things while dealing with ALS, sounds close to impossible but that's just what his life is, Impossible. When people look at him, they see him as a person that has been able to overcome much adversity, while being one of the most celebrated scientists of all time. What he has done is seen as heroic. But first we must ask... what is a hero?

"A hero is a person that uses their power for the greater good while being a role model and having determination." (Eva and Saron) Our definition of a hero matches Stephen Hawking's life story because he has determination by never letting his disability get to him. He is a hero because he used his intelligence to increase our knowledge about the world around us. Personally Stephen Hawking is a hero to us because just by thinking about his story, tells us that whatever life throws at us, we should never let it stop us from being the best person that we can be.

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