What is a Hero?

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Most people may think that a hero is like a person with superpowers or like having technological advancements to help save people. The truth is that any normal person can be a hero without having superpowers or anything else. You can be a hero by simply living your ordinary life. You may think of a hero having strength, wisdom, and victory. I think every hero should have perseverance, passion, and courage, despite the circumstances in which they live.

The first trait I believe a hero needs to have is perseverance. First, I believe Walt Disney had perseverance because he was fired from his job after his editor said he lacked imagination and had no original ideas. After he got fired, he went on and made a very well known company called Disney.  Second, I believe Colonel Sanders had perseverance because he kept on going even when no one would buy his chicken. He kept on going even when nobody would buy his recipe, and now his company is one of the top ten most liked restaurants. Third, Michael Jordan had perseverance because when he was in high school his basketball coach kicked him off of the team. He kept on believing in his dream afterward and is now a very famous basketball player. These examples show some famous people who you might not have seen as heroes, but they have a trait that makes them one.

The second trait that I believe a hero has is passion. First, I believe that Bill Gates had a passion for electronics. Did you know that when Bill Gates was in 8th grade, he got excused from his math class to work on computer programming? This shows passion because he skipped his math class -- a very important class in life -- to do the computer programming that he liked to do. Second, Dr. Martin Luther King JR. had perseverance. He had perseverance because when he was speaking for his people’s freedom, even when he got various threats to his life, but he still went on protesting for his people’s freedom. Third, J.K. Rowling had perseverance through her career. She started writing her first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and soon after, her mother died causing a deep depression. After that, she moved to Portugal to get a job, got married, got divorced with two children, got depression again, quit her job,  and started working on Harry Potter to make her happy. She sent her first three chapters of her book to twelve different publishers before one accepted her (she has now made over $20 billion dollars over her books and the publisher told her to get a day job because she wouldn’t make a lot of money over her books). She shows perseverance because even when things were very hard she kept on doing what she loved, writing! These examples show how a hero has a passion.

The last trait that I think a hero should have is courage. First, I believe Rosa Parks had lots of courage. She showed courage because she refused to give up her seat on the bus even when she knew the consequences that she would have. Second, I believe Michael Wilson has courage. He shows courage because he went to help the person who fell onto the subway rails even though he could he got severely hurt. Finally, I believe Jesus shows perseverance. Jesus shows perseverance because he died for our sins. I see this as a very courageous act. He died for us and he didn’t even know us! I hope you now understand why I think that a hero has courage.

Now you can tell that heroes come in all different forms.  Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.” This verse reminds me of how we need to be heroes because God is always going to be with us. This shows how in the end God is with us even though we might be a hero that can stand for themselves. I hope you have learned the characteristics that I think a hero should have and how God is always with us. That is why I think people have to go through hard times, find something to keep fighting for, and be strong even when times are tough are a hero.