Heroes...

We had to do this for English. I added some stuff at the end that I didn't want to say in my assignment.

What does it mean to be a hero? What qualities are important to heroism today? Do you have a hero? Describe him/her.

I think the definition of a hero is someone who does what’s right, regardless of the sacrifice he or she has to make. A hero has integrity and tries to determine the right choice in any given situation, always makes the right choice, and always helps others. But I don’t think any person in history has ever been a hero all around. There simply is no person who doesn’t think about themselves when faced with problems, because self-sustainment is one of the natural guiding forces. And nobody can always tell the right choice, and even those who can don’t necessarily choose it every time. So I don’t necessarily think that a hero always does the right thing all the time. A hero is just a regular person who has done something good enough that in the minds of other people, they can be idealized. A hero is an idea that people need to keep going, to give themselves an idea of a great, powerful, perfect person. In the episode “Jaynestown” of the show Firefly, Jayne is a folk hero for a planet of poor workers, even though the only reason they idealize him is because he accidentally dropped a bunch of money on them. After they learn this, they don’t care; he’s still their hero. Mal says, “It's my estimation that every man ever got a'statue made of him was one kind of sommbitch or another. Ain't about you, Jayne. 'Bout what they need.” What he’s saying is that no matter what faults he may have, and even though he didn’t do something selfless at all, the idea of Jayne is still a hero in their minds. This is probably the reason why many epic heroes have huge faults and yet are still exalted; people need something to believe in. I’ve had different heroes at different times in my life. Like anyone else, I need someone to look up to. I guess my sister is kind of my hero. She’s strong and independent, and she really makes something of her life. She’s also helped me through lots of hard things, and I can pretty much turn to her whenever. I really admire her in a lot of ways because of how smart and empowered she is. She’s sort of my fearless leader. I wouldn't be a feminist without her, probably; she's always helped me to open my eyes just a little wider and look at the world just a little harder. I'm so glad she's been here to help me out, because where would I be without her?