What Is A Hero?

Think for a moment of the word “Hero”. What comes to mind; a man in tights, a valiant woman in a leotard, or maybe someone more personal like your parents or an idol. Whatever you imagine, your person must have some qualities that label them as a hero. For me, a hero is simply an ordinary person who does extraordinary things. (As worded by Gerard Arthur Way)


You may be curious about my hero, Twilight. Why would I make my own hero? I created my own persona because I have been influenced by so many people that I can not pick just one hero. This crowd includes my parents, teachers, and musical artists. I created Twilight to be a hidden girl. She’s a girl a lot like me. This is to show that even someone as lost as I am can become a hero. Then I allowed Twilight to save a simple woman to exemplify her intolerance towards harassment. I wanted this to be an insight on my strong belief in activism. I used models such as Andrea Gibson and Amanda Palmer for this segment of her character. I wanted her to not only show that she was my hero, but also allow her to be a hero to other people. That is heroism; Inspiring others.


The quote I mentioned above, “A hero is simply an ordinary person who does extraordinary things” comes from Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance. I feel I should expand upon this. I don’t see everyone as my hero. But everyone has heroic qualities that may make them a hero to another audience. A hero, for me, changes things. They face a problem that’s personal to them and tackles it in their society. In Twilight’s debut adventure, she saves a woman from a potential sexual assault situation. Rape is a very personal topic in my life and I wanted to show people that I will not stand for it. I get this from my influences like my mother and Gibson, especially Gibson’s poem “Blue Blanket”.


An important factoid about my hero is that I used myself as a major basis. I am my own hero. I think this is very important. I am, in all honesty, the byproduct of my experiences. I’ve overcome a lot. Why not be my own hero? I mean, we’re attracted to our “hero’s” because we relate. We see ourselves or something we want in these people. I’ve had Merida (Twilight’s true identity) have many of the same problems as I do. She suffers from depression and self-harm. She is alone and bullied. Yet this frail girl takes solace in playing hero. The only difference between me and her is that I am virtually a hero and she takes her crime fighting to reality. The night she takes on the persona of Twilight, she was trying to run away anyways. After she becomes this hero, she’s able to manage her life. She knows after she goes through the torment, Merida can take out her pain by hurting the “bad” and saving the “good”.


This is what I see in a hero and the cause of my unique character. I hope after reading this, you’ll understand me more and understand my viewpoint on many things. I also wish that this opened your eyes to truly see who your students are under their first impressions. What I want you to walk away with is this; “A hero is simply an ordinary person, who does extraordinary things.” Anyone can be a hero. So go out and be your own hero.