Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy with his children, Kelly and Jack, and wife. (Google Images)

When we hear the word hero we might think of Power Rangers or Superman. However, heroes shouldn't have to have cool super powers or a wicked costume in order to be admired. A hero should be an idyllic person in your life that influence you, hopefully in a positive way. Heroes should have qualities that influence you to be a better person, that show you what happens with dedication and perseverance, and that encourage you to chase your dreams and goals. They should have talents and dreams that they use to help them succeed through life. To me, heroes could be as ordinary as a mother, or as unique and famous (or infamous) as Ozzy Osbourne.

My hero, my idol, is the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. He is not commonly known as John Osbourne. He, the one who is greatly known for swigging booze, biting off bat heads, and taken an obscene amount of drugs. However, Ozzy has been sober since his release of "Black Rain" in 2006. This shows that people CAN get off of drugs, and that just because you've done drugs and alcohol, this doesn't mean you will become a wash-up in your early thirties, living in millions of dollars of debt and despair, or dying early from an overdose. Don't get me wrong, that is a pretty common ending in drug life, but he managed to escape the horrible consequences before it was too late. He long reigns as the Prince. By this, I'm in awe. He shows how obstacles can be accomplished with sheer dedication. If he didn't care about being sober or not, he'd still be getting drunk at parties as if he were in his young twenties again.

Ozzy and Slash having tea (http://www.examiner.com/music-in-boise/ozzy-osbourne-to-release-new-cd-scream-june-sings-with-slash-video)

Not only is Ozzy known for his admirable soberness, he is also a famous artist born with Dyslexia. However, he didn't use this as some excuse in his life. Although he did not finish school, leaving at age fifteen, he maintained being a hard worker. He spent five years as a laborer on a building site, and worked as a car plant worker, trainee plumber, and even at a slaughter house. This also shows he did not waste all his time getting high and drunk in his early years.

Now, there are also things Ozzy is not commonly known for. For example, he's a big charity supporter! If you don't already know, Sharon Osbourne has a colon cancer foundation. He donates to her charity, AIDs prevention and studies, Music for Relief, mental challenge charities, and so many more. He's also sold personal possessions fetching $800,000 for Sharon's Colon Cancer Program! He shows that he's not all horrible and not that scary (even though he might enjoy thinking that people believe that).

There's even more I have to show as to why I adore Ozzy so much. You see, I don't believe Ozzy is selfish at all. I think he truly does have a heart of gold. Why, you may ask? There have been several reports that one day while in Los Angelas, an unknown beggar went to Ozzy and asked for some spare change. When Ozzy realized he had no money, he gave the little man a gold crucifix necklace worth $3,000 and told the man to pray with it.

There are too many reasons why I find Ozzy Osbourne to be my idle. He has been a very successful rock star for over forty years. He's been sober for over four years now. He's a dark, abnormal man with a golden heart. His uniqueness and beauty cannot be copied by his admirers nor can he be properly 'spoofed' by those who believe that he should rot in infamy. I've noticed that the ol' Prince is content with his life since being sober, and seeing that encourages me all the more not to start, rather than having a public speaker telling me why drugs are bad.

Now, I believe every quality is a flaw. Ozzy is abundant with flaws. However, his flaws make me see new achievements in life. He's helped me realize what paths not to take. Ozzy has done things in life that aren't exactly wonderful, like biting heads and urinating on the Alamo Sanctuary. However, the other memorable things he's done have greatly made up for his 'sinful' flaws. Ozzy is selfless, Ozzy is Prince, Ozzy is my idol.