John Tacket

I chose to do my project on John Tacket. He had a disease called Progeria. It is when you age much faster then normal. I chose John because I believe he shows many characteristics that are in the character web of heroes.

Strong Will - I chose this as one of the qualities because John Tacket lived to be the oldest person with progeria in America. In my opinion, that must have taken a lot of strong will, determination, and perseverance. He did a lot of normal things that normal kids do. He was in the school marching band, played drums, hung out with his friends, and loved to play pool. He was very intelligent and got good grades. He also worked at a restaurant where he stood on a chair to reach the cash register. To me, these are all good examples of strong will.

Courage - I chose courage because John Tacket was so courageous it almost scares me. If I was in his shoes, I would have sat at home doing nothing because I knew I was going to die before everyone else. He knew he had a disease, but that never stopped him from living his life. People close to him said they would remember him for his courage. He was never scared of what was to come; he was just trying to do his best to live in the present.

John with a famous guitar player who he played his drums with in a concert

Imperfect - I chose imperfect because we all know he wasn't perfect. He had many problems that affected his everyday living. He went to a concert and they let him play the drums, but he had to finish halfway through the song because he was out of breath and needed his oxygen. He had his flaws, but they were almost invisible because of all his good traits. Also, his flaws weren't his fault; he was born with this disease.

John with his loving parents

In conclusion, John Tacket is not only inspiring to me, but inspiring to anyone who knows or has heard about him. He just passed away recently on March 4th, 2004. I'm so glad I got to do this project because I got to learn more about him and his amazing journey.