Hero Definition Essay

What is a hero? That is the question that has many different answers depending on who you ask. There are some pretty popular answers to that question. One of those answers is; “A hero is someone who helps other people, or helps to make other people's lives better.” Another is; “A hero is a person who tries to make the world a better place.” or “A hero is a person who does something that is more than what is expected.” Still others are “A hero is someone that doesn't do something for his or her own problems but for the benefit of others” and “A hero is a person that doesn't want to be a hero just to be famous.” Those were just some statements about what people think a hero is, but what about the qualities a hero should have?

There are many qualities that people think a hero should have. To name a few of those qualities there is; courage, determination, focus, compassion, dedication, honesty, loyalty, responsibility, and wisdom. (http://www.personalitytutor.com/qualities-of-a-hero.html). Most people believe these are very important qualities to have, probably because they themselves wish they had more of those traits. Most people believe that these traits are not just traits of “superheroes”; they are also the traits of everyday heroes, or real heroes-not super heroes- throughout history.

An example of an “everyday” hero is Bethany Hamilton, she is a surfer who on October 31, 2003 at age 13, was attacked by a 14 foot long tiger shark while surfing, and lost her arm. (http://www.values.com/inspirational-sayings-billboards/39-Rising-Above) She luckily survived the attack, but it seemed that her lifelong dream to become a professional surfer was almost ruined. After a few months of healing and such she got back on her surf board to...

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... told and said the message “never give up”.

One of the main qualities that both these heroes had was courage. The reason for this is that there were many bad things that happened in their lives, and even though it was scary they push forward. Courage is one of the main qualities that people say when asked “What is a quality that a hero should possess?” We all what to be courageous, and when we see a “hero” being that, it makes us believe that we can be too. That is another good thing heroes do; they inspire us to, be courageous, to help somebody, or to not give up. "You blaze the trail. And sometimes that involves doing something that scares the heck out of you." (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/liz-murray-shares-her-tale-of-life-from-homeless-to-harvard/article1314532/) That is a quote by Liz Murray that inspires us to try something new and be courageous.