Heroes From People example essay topic

Growing up as a child in America I did not have a hero. Although I was exposed through my own reading and television to many revered and "famous" people, I never aspired to be like any particular individual. I looked at people's accomplishments and achievements, as remarkable as they might have been, as normal. I saw their feats as something that I myself can achieve if I made an effort. I remember my friend, Ben, always talking about Charles Barkley, a legendary basketball player. He would follow his every move on and off the court.

All you had to do was walk into his room to and you would be able to tell the deep love he had for his hero. His wall was plastered with posters of Barkley and his desk was full of Barkley action figures. He even collected the ticket stubs of all the games that he went to in which Barkley played. This deep love and admiration for a human being was something that I did not relate to. In retrospect, I'm happy that I did not have a hero. Adults blame the fact that children do not have a hero in part on the political leaders, professional sports players and other famous figures who prove to be disappointing role models, and in part on society for instilling in the younger generation with a lack of respect and admiration, a general tendency towards apathy.

I did not have a hero because I felt that the heroes that my peers had were not individuals I could look up to. My parents stressed to me the importance of learning from those who do great deeds to society as well as having originality and individuality. I myself chose not to revere any particular individual. Society has an unrealistic definition of a hero. Heroes have long stood as ideals, as shining, perfect people seen on television or in the movies. The people that mourn the lack of heroes want us to admire people we have never met, on the basis of appearances and second hand information.

In this regard, the concept of a hero is irrelevant. It forces us to regard a false idea and to respect a celebrity or leader because of what he seems to be. Every human has both good and bad qualities, and when we worship the good and ignore the bad we are in for a major disappointment. In my opinion the lack of these "heroes" marks the rise of human character not the decline. When the word "hero" is mentioned, the word "famous" comes to mind. Society has made a mistake by teaching us that to be worthy of the title of "hero", a person must be famous.

In reality we can't make heroes from people that we don't know personally. The fact that people don't cherish the famous shows that they have grown out of the unimportant judgment of outer appearances and have developed insight and strength of character. These people don't have to model themselves entirely after others. They have room for originality, independence and freedom of choice.

Instead of seeking qualities in strangers, they build admirable qualities in themselves, in their personalities and their own dreams. Society doesn't need people to emulate heroes; it needs the contributions of individuality. However, true heroes do exist. They are the people whose characters we know and appreciate, whose weaknesses are identified by us and still don't disappoint us, people who aren't praised and don't need to be praised to make them worthy of our admiration.

These people are our parents, siblings, teachers, rabbis and friends. We see them every day, talk with them and work with them. These people are the true heroes. Unfortunately I did not realize this as a kid. I did however realize that those who have fame and fortune aren't the ones we should necessarily be looking up to. It is only now that I realize what a true hero is.