Sunday, December 16, 2012

The Hero Within Us


     When I was a child, I used to think that heroes were strong and daring people. But then I realized that nowadays, heroes often aren’t the most widely recognized people, and superficially their actions don’t necessarily seem to be the most risky or awe inspiring. What it takes to be a hero is just courage and the will for self sacrifice for some greater good of all humanity. The definition of a hero always changes with the context and time. Heroes of the past are not necessarily heroes of present time and vice versa.  

     We all have our own heroes. Children are extremely interested with legendary and fantasy figures because they take on such tasks as: difficult journeys, challenges with dragons, and discovering lost treasure. Meanwhile, there are also other types of hero that only few people are aware of. A hero could be a parent who, after an exhausting day, helps a child with a difficult homework assignment. It could also be a person on the street who picks up and returns something you didn’t realize you’d dropped, someone who takes time out of a busy schedule to help you with a problem, or someone who makes an impact in your life.

     In our world now, anybody can be a hero like police officers, firefighters, teachers, doctors, volunteers, or even someone you walk by on the streets. Have you ever heard about the story of Captain Richard Phillips? He was the one who offered himself as the hostage to the pirates hijacking his ship to save his crew. He was held for five days before Navy SEALS finally rescued him. What he did was one remarkable thing that many people think of as a heroic behavior. He could have been my next-door neighbor, or yours. Nothing distinguishes him as particularly extraordinary; however, his humble act of bravery made him considered as a hero.Sometimes, those who we think as heroes are merely ordinary good people who are simply doing their jobs. Essentially, we shouldn’t need “heroes”. Instead, we should seek role models and acknowledge the everyday worker. A hero shows me a better way to live my own life and inspires me to push myself beyond my boundaries, to open my heart to those who may be nothing like me, and to offer my help whenever I can. Thus, the ultimate search for a hero should be within us. 

     Everyone can be a hero. You too can be a hero to someone else. It just takes being in the right place at the right time in our lives - and deciding to act in the moment. Like how do you react when you see someone in need? You can panic and do nothing. You can also turn away and pretend that you don’t see anything. Or you face the situation and do what you can do to help them. It is all about making decision combined with confidence, sacrifice, courage, and will that are all always available to every person. I once read a quote from Time magazine, saying “Everywhere we look, there are hidden reserves of majesty, honor, genius, and luck”. It put me into a thinking that actually, we are that reserves. All we have to do is unfold the heroic behaviors and flow them out onto our friends, family, and even strangers.

     Now I have some tips to find our hero within and build our personal courage. First, everytime you face a problem, take a deep breath and ask yourself, “What’s the right thing to do here?”. Believe that you all have the power of your conviction to choose and make your own decision. Second, turn fear and anxiety into action. Those feelings are sometimes caused by the feeling of helplessness. But by setting goals and being passionately committed to do the right things, you’ll see that you also have the power to make a difference. Never let fear defeats you. Last, remember good things come out of bad situations, although you may not be able to see them at that time. Just don’t give up, and most importantly, believe in yourself.  

     So, in conclusion, you don’t have to fight and bleed to become a hero. A hero doesn’t always fight crimes or always have oppositions. A hero is just an everyday person who has wisdom and fortitude to do what is right. It could be started simply by doing  good deeds like helping one person out, or cheering up people in grief. From now on, remember not to always look for heroes’ help. Be that hero.

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