“Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom” (“A Quote by Nelson Mandela”). Many people deal the struggles of poverty and don't know how to help themselves or others. Shania Twain is one of the people who fought through poverty and overcame it with the help of her passion, music, and also proved to us that we can be the great generation that Nelson Mandela was talking about. On August 28th, 1965 a hero named Eilleen Regina Edwards was born in Windsor, Canada and is now known as Shania Twain. Twain was originally named “Eileen” but took the name Shania from her Indian Heritage that means “I'm on my way”. When Twain was young, her parents porced but soon after her mom remarried to a man named Jerry Twain, which is where her last name comes from. Twain has 4 siblings which she loves dearly and would do anything to protect them. Shania Twain was living with a family in extreme poverty and had to fight through this her whole childhood but eventually found her way out through perseverance and music. Fighting through obstacles is something a hero does and they must also possess selflessness and perseverance. Selflessness means that one must always focus on the “we” instead of the “me”. Possessing selflessness means that one always puts others before themselves and will go out of their way to do things for other people. Another quality a hero must possess is perseverance which is never giving up. A hero will always push through situations no matter how tough they are and will fight for what they want. Both of these qualities are exactly what represents the hero Shania Twain. Shania Twain is a deserving hero because she fought through poverty with the help of music while empowering women, and created a charity to selflessly give back to people in her similar situation.

Shania Twain with her Guitar https://hd-photos4u.blogspot.in/2012/07/shania-twain-hot-wallpapers.htmlTwain demonstrated perseverance while she was in poverty and used music to help her escape her situation while taking the roll to support her family in a time when they needed her the most. When Twain dealt with her problems she used music as a way to escape what she was facing. “As a child, Twain turned to music to escape her circumstances. According to the Toronto Sun's Jane Stevenson, Twain prayed a lot as a child. ‘I just wanted to be swept away. I wanted music to take me away. I wanted music to adopt me and take me away from all that hell’” (“Shania Twain”). Twain's actions of using music to try and help her situation shows how she was perserverant and was going to help herself and her family one way or another. Twain turns to something she loved to deal with her problems and eventually went on to help her family. Shania Twain was a hero for this because she was selfless and always wanted to help others, which is a quality a true hero must possess. When Shania was older, she was faced with the situation where she would have to take care of her family. “Tragically, both her parents were killed when Twain was 21, when their car collided with a fully loaded logging truck. Left with two teenage brothers and a younger sister to raise, she marketed her musical abilities into a steady job singing pop and show tunes at the Deerhurst Resort in nearby Huntsville, which enabled her to provide the family with a stable home. ‘I bought a house, a family truck and settled down--I thought, forever’"(“Shania Twain”). When Shania was 21, both of her parents were killed in a car accident. This was really a huge turning point for her and she took matters into her own hands and took care of her family. She did this by turning her passion of music into something she could make money off of, and met her dreams of providing for her family that she loved. These actions demonstrate how Shania was perseverant because she didn’t let anything get in her way and when her family needed her she did everything she could to help them. This makes Twain a hero because she inspired people to help others, and to always find the light at the end of the tunnel. Twain does not only use music to help her escape reality but she also uses it to to help empower and inspire women. "It's important to have a positive influence on whoever still cares about my music, and it makes it that much more important to write about things or sing about things that relate to real issues"(Watts). Shania did not only use the money from music to provide for her family, but also to inspire women. Shania believes that if she is going to put so much time into music she should make it related to real world issues and things that people may be facing daily. Shania is perseverant because throughout her tough experiences she never lets any obstacles get in her way and also used her music to spread positive messages to women. Shania demonstrates how she is caring and portrays hero like qualities because she always wants to help others whenever she gets the opportunity and makes others feel good about themselves when they could be in similar situations to hers.

Shania with a kid from her Charityhttps://richglare.com/shania-twain-net-worth-money/
Shania Twain overcame all the struggles she faced, and gave back to people in her similar situation by creating a charity because she was selfless. Shania faced many struggles and knew it would have helped her if she had support when she was facing them.“I know that in my youth I would have benefited from a support system at school like SKC that had an enthusiastic, compassionate program leader who listened and understood me - a person who reinforced areas of my day that I found challenging such as recognizing when I didn’t have a lunch and providing one, paying for pizza day when I didn't have the money to pay myself, ensuring that I never missed a field trip or helping the child obtain permission slips from parents, or having an open communication with my teachers to create an awareness, sensitivity and appreciation of my personal situation”(Twain). Twain faced difficulties like this everyday so she lived a different life than many other “normal” children. Twain never took as many as the fun opportunities she had in her life because she was selfless and didn't want to take away from her family and wanted them to be as happy as they could be in their situation. This demonstrates Twain's heroic qualities because she is giving back to the people who were in a similar situation to what she was in. She realized that kids shouldn't have to miss out on the fun parts of their childhood and that having someone to support them would have been so beneficial to her when she was in their shoes. Shania Twain is a true hero because she never wants anyone to feel alone and is making a huge difference in people's lives everyday. Shania wants to be the person she wish she had when she was going through what they are. Twain is a hero to many because she takes her own time to help other people through her charity. “She started Shania Kids Can to give underprivileged children the chance to play music or take lessons their families could not otherwise afford. Shania intends to be closely involved, visiting schools and finding out how to make a difference in children’s lives”(“Shania Twain: Charity Work & Causes”). Shania knows the situation these kids are going through so she decided to make a charity called “Shania Kids Can”. This is a charity that could help kids in all social aspects of their lives and be there for them when they need them. Twain shows how selfless she is when she created this because she wants to help others and her willingness to do this makes her a true hero. Twain takes time out of her own life to give back to the people that need her the most. Twain is a true selfless person and a hero because she saves people from the hard situation they are in, and wants to make a difference in their lives. Shania Twain has become what she wished she had when she was a child, and shows her selflessness by taking her own time to give back to the people going through what she went through.

Shania Helping all Different kinds of Kidshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-9cMPI50n4Shania Twain is a hero because she never let anything get in the way of her dreams and always wanted to help other people. Twain's path to success started when Shania was young and her parents died so she took the role to take care of her family which she did by creating music and following her dreams. Twain was always perseverant and never let any obstacles get in the way of her and doing what she wanted to do, which was always helping people. After Twain supported her family she went on to try and support people everywhere who she didn't even know. Shania did this because she was selfless and wanted to help as much as she could. Twain always focused on the “we” instead of the “me” which is a skill true heroes possess. This inspires others to be less selfish and to help people whenever they can. Shania demonstrates how one may always not get a cape for being a hero but it always is the thought that counts. Twain inspires society to never let anything get in the way of ones dreams and to always fight for what is right no matter how much suffering or how challenging it is. She portrays the global message of how there always will be a light at the end of a tunnel and if one never lets anything stop them from doing what they love and what they know is right, we can all truly make a difference in this world and be “the great generation”.

Works Cited

“A Quote by Nelson Mandela.” Quote by Nelson Mandela: "Overcoming Poverty Is Not a Task of Charity, It...", www.goodreads.com/quotes/136955-overcoming-poverty-is-not-a-task-of-charity-it-is.

“Shania Twain: Charity Work & Causes.” Look to the Stars, 2006, www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/shania-twain.

"Shania Twain." Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol. 26, Gale, 2006. Student Resources in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631008788/SUIC?u=powa9245&xid=72945891. Accessed 30 Jan. 2018.

"Shania Twain." Newsmakers, Gale, 1996. Student Resources in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618003353/SUIC?u=powa9245&xid=b6b050c8. Accessed 30 Jan. 2018.

Twain, Shania. “A Personal Note from Shania.” Shania Kids Can, 5 June 2017, www.shaniakidscan.com/about-us/founder.

Watts, Cindy. "Twain gets personal about survival on 'Now'." USA Today, 5 Oct. 2017, p. 03D. Student Resources in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A508329050/SUIC?u=powa9245&xid=afb75e4b. Accessed 30 Jan. 2018.