Contemporary Heroes: Do You Qualify?.
In today's society we hear the word hero all of the time. Even in the media, the term is thrown around as if it were an everyday word. But what exactly is a hero? Who or what can be classified as heroic? The correct definition of a hero is one who is invested with selfless, admirable qualities in the eyes of others. That is a fine definition for books and for the intellectual minds, but to the average person a hero is much more.
To better understand what a hero is, it may be easier to describe what a hero is not. Nearly everyday on television people talk of athletes and celebrities as being heroes, but are they really? To put it mildly, they are not heroes at all. Perhaps they are role models, but for the most part, they do not possess any heroic qualities. When Michael Jordan and Bruce Willis risk their lives to save an abandoned child from a burning building, they will possess the qualities maintained by heroes. Police officers and fire fighters are sometimes classified as heroes, but until they prove themselves worthy, they are just considered ordinary people. The title hero should not be given by occupation, rather by achievement. .
So, what exactly is a hero? Parents are true heroes. Most parents sacrifice time, money, love, and anything else for their children. When times are tough, good parents do all they can to make things better for their children. Mothers and fathers often work two jobs, late at night, or on weekends to provide for their kids. My father, for example, constantly works graveyard shifts, double shifts, and 24-hour shifts, while my mother spends mornings aiding special needs children and evenings in hospitals all for the sake of providing for my siblings and me. In addition to that, my mom is always there for me when I am sick, telling me she wishes she were the sick one. She also reassures me by saying that she always has an extra kidney if I happen to need one.
