Definition Essay On Being A Hero

“Being a hero doesn’t mean you’re invincible. It means you’re brave enough to stand up and do what’s needed.” (Rick Riordan) When considering heroes, characters such as Iron Man, Superman, or the Hulk probably come to mind, but these are merely comic book heroes. Fantasies. And even though everyone loves an armored billionaire who can destroy a skyscraper with one blast, a true hero isn’t someone with cool powers or a fancy suit. Rick Riordan is claiming that a hero doesn’t have to have superhuman abilities. Instead, a true hero is an ordinary person who chooses to do the right thing and to help others, even if they have to make sacrifices themself, and is selfless, able to resist temptations, brave, and humble.

    A true hero can be any ordinary person willing to do what’s

right and demonstrates selflessness, resistance to temptation, bravery, and humility. First of all, heroes are willing to put others before themselves rather than selfishly focusing on their own needs without considering those of others.

An example of this could be a stranger that selflessly stands up for a kid being bullied. This person is heroic because they have no affiliations with the kid, meaning that the event wouldn’t affect them at all, yet they choose to selflessly risk themselves knowing that the the bully would probably be after them next. The act performed by this stranger is selfless because they risked themself without any benefits. Heroism also requires someone who can resist temptations from others. This could be an ordinary student that resists peer pressure and doesn’t join a gang or do drugs, even though they know doing so would make them cool and gain them popularity. This makes them heroic because they were able to recognize and resist bad behavior even though they know it would make them popular. Another trait a true hero demonstrates is bravery in helping others. For example, firefighters courageously run into burning buildings, knowing the danger, to save those inside. This is heroic because the firefighters willingly risk themselves to save others in an act of bravery without expecting any sort of fame or other exceptional benefits in

return. Finally, a hero must be humble. A narcissist can’t be heroic because they are often self absorbed and would most likely only be performing heroic acts for their own benefit. One example of a humble hero is Tristan Segers. According to Gale Fiege, Tristan is a soldier who lost his leg while stationed in Afghanistan. He was driving a patrol vehicle that was blown up by an IED. Segers later demonstrates humility when he humbly states, “I didn’t do anything special, but if the progress I have made motivates another wounded veteran to keep going, then that’s great.” This is a humble statement because he admits he didn’t do any sort of superhuman act and tries to change his problem into something that can help others. All these traits build a hero, but on the other hand, heroes cannot be selfish, easily tempted, coward, or narcissistic. These traits weaken the hero, preventing them from serving others as well as they could, while the others empower them and help them do better.
    Heroism is not a cape and a cool name. Heroism is ordinary people. It’s the willingness to do the right thing. It’s selflessness. It’s resistance to temptations, it’s bravery, and it’s humility. It’s anyone who stops to help another person, or takes the time to do the right thing. A hero doesn’t have to be a supernaturally powered being that saves the world every other Tuesday, but rather any average person you see walking down the street. Your neighbor, the teenager working the register at the grocery store, or the quiet kid that sits next to you in science could be heroes. You could be a hero. All it takes is selflessness, resistance, bravery, humility, and a will to do what’s right.