Gerard Way

orginal drawing (Makayla Price)

            Some people say singers can't be heroes, but they're wrong and I will prove it. Gerard Way, lead singer for My Chemical Romance, has three important heroic traits such as optimism, inspiration, and determination. I will show you how my hero Gerard Way is a hero.

            Way was born April 9, 1977 in Summit, NJ, and raised in Belleville, NJ. His first public appearance was in a fourth grade musical, Peter Pan. As Way grew older, he had a life-changing experience at the age of 15 when he was "held-up at gun-point with a .357 magnum execution style," says Way in a Rolling Stone magazine interview. "No matter how ugly the world gets or how stupid it shows me it is, I always have faith," says Way. What he said after such a terrifying experience shows how optimistic he is.

            At the beginning, Way's career wasn't very easy. As teenagers, Way and his brother Mikey Way, the bassist for My Chemical Romance, were influenced by bands such as Iron Maiden and The Misfits as well as British artists Pulp, Blur, and Morissey and The Smiths. Originally, Way wanted to be a guitarist. He played in many short-lived bands like Ray Gun Jones and Nancy Drew with future bandmate Ray Toro, but when he was not successful (one band kicked him out due to his lack of skill with the guitar), he chose to concentrate on his art career. Even though he didn't make his life a success with the guitar, he still made a huge leap into stardom at a young age with his singing which inspires me and many others to make our dreams come true as well. That is how Gerard Way is inspirational.

Way has been determined all his life though he has had struggles like everyone else. In the past, Way has admitted that music turned out to be an effective outlet to deal with his long time battles against depression, alcoholism, and prescription drug use. The use of music as a way to resolve personal battles has caused Way to create deeply personal songs such as "Helena."

Through his struggle he has been sober since August 2004. Gerard Way also showed his determination when he was working as an intern for Cartoon Network during the September eleven attack on the World Trade Center and seeing the effects of the attack first-hand prompted Way to change his outlook on life in the following weeks. He told Spin Magazine, "I literally said to myself, 'forget art. I've gotta make a difference'". To help deal with the emotional effects the attacks had on him, Way wrote the song "Skylines and Turnstiles." Gerard Way is my hero because he showed me that even through the darkest times there is always hope.

"Gerard Way". Internet.http://RollingStone.com

"Helena by My Chemical Romance". Internet.i.lyrics.com