A- Over the weekend I sat down to complete my blog assignment with the mind set of getting it done. I read the assignment, sat in front of the computer for another couple minutes, and then went downstairs to watch a movie. I decided to rekindle some of my childhood memories by watching the Disney movie Mulan. Half an hour through, a song started playing called "Reflection" by Christina Aguilera. It was during this sequence that the main character Mulan was starting to figure out who she really was as a person. And it was at this time the true value of self knowledge. Mulan did not let tradition or her family dictate the person that she was, but she took her own fate into her hands and decided to be the person that she wanted to be.
In order to gain self-knowledge, a person has to make decisions for his/herself and use each experience has a learning tool to figure out his/her strengths and weaknesses. A person has to be willing to admit that they are not perfect and have weaknesses, but at the same time, they need to be proud of their strengths and admit to them as well. That is the value of self-knowledge - the ability to be honest about who you really are and what you can do.
B- One of my greatest weaknesses as a person is my inability to be patient. I am the type of person who has to do everything quickly, but efficiently. I am the person that gets frustrated when someone does not understand something that I perceive to be simple or common sense. If someone manages to get in my way or keeps me from accomplishing my tasks, I get irritated. However, I cannot go through life expecting not to face any obstacles or assuming that every person has the same way of accomplishing tasks as I do. That would be unrealistic. So, in order compensate for reality, I remind myself during these situations that life does go on even when things are not perfect. I force myself to be calm when explaining for the third time how to do a math problem even though I finished the homework a couple hours ago. Every instance in which I find that my impatience is getting the best of me I make myself take a deep breath, calm down, and continue on. I will most likely always have this weakness, but to what extent it controls my life is up to me and the way I decide to live my life.
C- I pride myself in my ability to get along with most everyone - mainly because I refrain from passing judgments too fast. I have friends of all races, social/economic classes, and even of various ages. I do not let social barriers keep me from talking to others even when those people are not the "best" role model or even the "best" human being because who has the right to judge someone else's role in life? One of my main beliefs is that everyone has something to offer - something that they are able to teach others. I have met people that never completed high school and have lived in a trailer park their entire lives yet they are the happiest and sometimes smartest people. However, if I were to judge them by sight or first impression, I would have said they were a low-class citizen that did not seem to care. It is not my place to pass judgements on others, especially when I would not want someone else's first impression of me used to decide what kind of person I am. I have found that by refraining from judging too quickly has caused me to learn a lot about life and has opened my eyes to a whole other part of life that I never would have seen before because I have let so many different people from all walks of life into mine.
D- When I first found out the assignment was to write about my greatest strength and weakness, I thought it was going to be easy. However, when I started to actually think about my abilities, I could not come up with any. So, I decided to ask family members and a few friends what they thought. The answers they gave seemed helpful but I did not think that they were the strongest part of my character. Not only that, all the answers were different. People took a little longer when answering the question about my greatest weakness. Some tried to turn it into a backhanded compliment by saying that I was too kind. Once again, all the answers were different. Then I realized that I was not going to find my answer from other people, but I had to come up with them myself.
Actually writing about my strengths and weaknesses was not too hard to do. The hardest part was figuring out what those aspects were going to be. It was difficult because I do not like to come across as an arrogant person. However, while writing about my strength, I realized that there is a difference between being arrogant and being honest with yourself. Arrogance is defined as showing excessive pride, however, by just admitting that I am good at not passing judgments is not showing excessive pride. Also, when writing about my greatest weakness I had to make sure that I showed some confidence in myself and did not declare everything to be my greatest weakness - after all, I have to be good at something!
This blog assignment was definitely the most interesting one because It seemed like a very easy thing to write about, yet turned out to be a great learning experience and harder than I thought originally. This is something that I believe everyone should have to do at some point in there life because it teaches you so much about yourself and forces you to come to terms with who you really are.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Just Don't Pull Yourself Up!
I plunged into the water face first and was yanked back up to the surface by my life jacket. Spitting out the water that had rushed into my mouth, I raised my arm letting the watcher in the boat know I was okay. Frustrated, I yanked the grips on top of my boats to make sure that my water skis were firmly in place. I refused look toward the boat knowing that my aunt and family friend Tom would be waiting to once again tell me what I had done wrong.
Unfortunately (or so it seemed), neither person waited for me to look over to give their advice.
"Emily. Don't try to pull yourself out of the water. Let the boat do the work for you. Then after you're up, then work on balancing and centering yourself."
This was probably the sixth time today that I had heard this same piece of advice and it was getting old - and fast.
I thought about what they said to me about how I'm supposed to let the boat do the work for me. So I figured that for this time I would just sit in the water holding the rope's handle and wait for something to happen. And that's exactly what I did. I started in my crouch position and stayed that way until the hand grip on the tow rope was forcefully yanked out of my hands. At least this time I didn't do a belly flop.
"What could I have possibly done wrong this time?" I wondered aloud, partly to myself and partly to my aunt Susie and Tom.
"There is a a fine line between trying to do all the work to get up and not doing any of it. You have to give the boat a little help by slightly bringing your butt out of the water, but you need to learn to let the boat bring the rest of your body up." Tom said patiently even though I'm sure he was tired of doing circles to pick me up after falls.
For the next try, I attempted to find that line. I raised my back end but I still held my crouch position. Success followed and I was out of the water. Even though I fell about a second after I got up, it didn't matter. I had finally found the thin line between wanting to do all the work and doing none of it.
Even though Tom's advice was meant to teach me how to get out of the water on skis, I found multiply ways in which I could apply it to my own life, especially when working with other people. Work groups are formed for the soul purpose of splitting up the work and taking pressure of the individual. If all parts of the group work together, in the end, everyone will be successful. If one person decides to take on a bigger load and do all the work by him/herself, the group dynamic is thrown off and eventually everyone will fall behind of the work-nut and the group is no longer useful unless the work load is split evenly again. The same kind of thing happens when someone in a group decides to do none of the work. Not only is the person who slacked off in trouble, but so is everyone else that was counting on him or her to do their part. Finding the line between doing to little work and too much is a hard concept to learn, but everyone must learn it at some point. Luckily, I learned this having fun water skiing before I had to apply it to real life scenarios.
Unfortunately (or so it seemed), neither person waited for me to look over to give their advice.
"Emily. Don't try to pull yourself out of the water. Let the boat do the work for you. Then after you're up, then work on balancing and centering yourself."
This was probably the sixth time today that I had heard this same piece of advice and it was getting old - and fast.
I thought about what they said to me about how I'm supposed to let the boat do the work for me. So I figured that for this time I would just sit in the water holding the rope's handle and wait for something to happen. And that's exactly what I did. I started in my crouch position and stayed that way until the hand grip on the tow rope was forcefully yanked out of my hands. At least this time I didn't do a belly flop.
"What could I have possibly done wrong this time?" I wondered aloud, partly to myself and partly to my aunt Susie and Tom.
"There is a a fine line between trying to do all the work to get up and not doing any of it. You have to give the boat a little help by slightly bringing your butt out of the water, but you need to learn to let the boat bring the rest of your body up." Tom said patiently even though I'm sure he was tired of doing circles to pick me up after falls.
For the next try, I attempted to find that line. I raised my back end but I still held my crouch position. Success followed and I was out of the water. Even though I fell about a second after I got up, it didn't matter. I had finally found the thin line between wanting to do all the work and doing none of it.
Even though Tom's advice was meant to teach me how to get out of the water on skis, I found multiply ways in which I could apply it to my own life, especially when working with other people. Work groups are formed for the soul purpose of splitting up the work and taking pressure of the individual. If all parts of the group work together, in the end, everyone will be successful. If one person decides to take on a bigger load and do all the work by him/herself, the group dynamic is thrown off and eventually everyone will fall behind of the work-nut and the group is no longer useful unless the work load is split evenly again. The same kind of thing happens when someone in a group decides to do none of the work. Not only is the person who slacked off in trouble, but so is everyone else that was counting on him or her to do their part. Finding the line between doing to little work and too much is a hard concept to learn, but everyone must learn it at some point. Luckily, I learned this having fun water skiing before I had to apply it to real life scenarios.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Life As I See It
A- To Do List (aka What I Want to Accomplish)
1- To get a good education
2- Have a family
3- Go sky diving
4- Go on a Cross-Country road trip
5- Make a difference
B- Why? Why would I want to do these things?
When someone hears the word "education," they automatically assume school. However important going to school actually is, that is not the only type of education that I wish to accomplish. As Mark Twain once said, "Don't let your schooling interfere with your education." I want to be able to go to school, learn what they have to teach me and then be able to apply it to my life and what I want to do. Going to school can only teach you so much; it only teaches you the 'formulas.' But the actual application of them is up to me. So when I say that I want to get a good education, I mean that I want to take my schooling and apply that to my life and then learn from those experiences.
Everyday I come home to an empty house because my parents are at work or out running errands. Initially, the time that I have to myself is wonderful. I get a chance to wind down from the day's excitements. However, I soon get bored with finding various ways to entertain myself and wish for a companion to share my thoughts and stories with. But then, at that moment, someone from my family will walk into the room and relieve me of that loneliness. I don't think that I would ever be able to live my life without knowing that someone is always there with me. To me, having a family is more than just a number of people living together and providing for one another. My family is everything to me; they are me best friends, and, at times, they are also my enemies. But, in the end, I know that they will always be there to listen to my stories.
To everyone that asks me what I have always wanted to do, I have answered with sky diving. And with that answer always comes quizzical looks accompanied with a confused "why?" And I answer, "why not?" When you think about it, how many people do you know that have been sky diving. I don't know a single person who has. And, it's not necessarily the actual sky diving that I want to do (even though I believe that it would be an AMAZING experience), it's that fact that its a different and unique opportunity that not many people can claim to have done. I am one of those people that likes to try new things and experience the thrill and excitement that comes along with it.
A couple months ago, my friend and I were talking about everything that this country (the United States) has to offer and instead of us going out to see it, there we were sitting in a booth at McDonald's. That's when we decided that we needed to take a cross-country road trip. We decided that we didn't necessarily have to do it together because realistically when would we ever be able to? But, we both felt that it was something we need to experience. I have lived in the Northeast, specifically Connecticut, for my entire life. And most places that I travel to, or go to regularly, are all in the Northeast as well. I like to think that I am a well-rounded and open minded person, but how can I be when I have never left my sheltered home in the Northeast? There are so many different types of people, food, cultures, and customs out there in my own country that I will never get to be a part of if I don't leave. I believe that for me to claim well-roundness that I need to experience life outside of the safe nest of the Northeast.
One of the final things that I would like to accomplish is to make a difference. I realize that this idea is cliche and everyone claims to have this same goal, but I, however, don't want to do it in the standard fashion. What I should say is, I don't need to have my name remembered by everyone that succeeds me or have a building named after me or even start a life-changing organization. All I need to accomplish to make a difference is to know that at some point during my life I helped to make someones life better. Whether it be by a piece of advice that I have given them or because of the smile that I gave to someone walking down the street.
C- Why do these things matter? What does humanity as a whole gain from these accomplishments?
Humanity, as a whole, benefits from all the underlying ideas of these accomplishments, not necessarily the actual deed itself.
Take sky diving for example. Most people probably won't ever get the chance to go sky diving but they will get the opportunity to experience new things and widen their horizons. You don't need to jump from a plane to experience new things. All you need to do is be willing to throw yourself out there and look for opportunities. And when one does come, don't pass it up because who knows if it is ever going to come again.
Its the same thing with cross-country road trip. Again, most people won't get the chance to travel to a wide variety of places, but if they are open-minded about different cultures and willing to participate in different social events they will still get the same learning opportunity. Humanity as a whole needs to get rid of the "I'm superior" attitude that it has. If it can do this, people will realize that other cultures have so much to offer. And by making yourself acquainted with the various types or traditions that are out there you will have a better appreciation and understanding of your own culture.
Not only are the concepts that are behind sky diving and traveling important to humanity, but so is getting an education. In the United States, everyone has the opportunity to go to school and receive a diploma. However, not everyone takes advantage of this opportunity, and even those that do don't follow the same path. What a person chooses to learn or not to learn is based on their interests. You don't need the same amount of schooling to become a carpenter as you would need to become a doctor. But both professions are incredibly important. It's about what you do with what you learn, whether you are learning inside a classroom or learning from life experiences. How much actual schooling you get doesn't matter as much as what you do with your knowledge.
Education and the ability to make a difference go hand in hand. If you are able to use what you know to help someone else, then you have made a difference, even if what you were able to give was small. If all of humanity took their knowledge and used it to help someone else out instead of just using it for their own gain, our world would be much better off. Humanity as a whole doesn't need to solve every single problem or make life perfect for everyone to make a difference. All someone has to do is show kindness and willingness to share your knowledge with others.
Many people will ask why having a family is important because some never get married and live by themselves their whole lives. However, even though they may not have a blood related family close by them they still find companionship. Whether this companionship is through co-workers, life-long friends, or even pets. No one is ever truly alone in life even though it seems that way sometimes. Part of being a human is the need for interaction. The only thing that is different is the way this need is fulfilled.
1- To get a good education
2- Have a family
3- Go sky diving
4- Go on a Cross-Country road trip
5- Make a difference
B- Why? Why would I want to do these things?
When someone hears the word "education," they automatically assume school. However important going to school actually is, that is not the only type of education that I wish to accomplish. As Mark Twain once said, "Don't let your schooling interfere with your education." I want to be able to go to school, learn what they have to teach me and then be able to apply it to my life and what I want to do. Going to school can only teach you so much; it only teaches you the 'formulas.' But the actual application of them is up to me. So when I say that I want to get a good education, I mean that I want to take my schooling and apply that to my life and then learn from those experiences.
Everyday I come home to an empty house because my parents are at work or out running errands. Initially, the time that I have to myself is wonderful. I get a chance to wind down from the day's excitements. However, I soon get bored with finding various ways to entertain myself and wish for a companion to share my thoughts and stories with. But then, at that moment, someone from my family will walk into the room and relieve me of that loneliness. I don't think that I would ever be able to live my life without knowing that someone is always there with me. To me, having a family is more than just a number of people living together and providing for one another. My family is everything to me; they are me best friends, and, at times, they are also my enemies. But, in the end, I know that they will always be there to listen to my stories.
To everyone that asks me what I have always wanted to do, I have answered with sky diving. And with that answer always comes quizzical looks accompanied with a confused "why?" And I answer, "why not?" When you think about it, how many people do you know that have been sky diving. I don't know a single person who has. And, it's not necessarily the actual sky diving that I want to do (even though I believe that it would be an AMAZING experience), it's that fact that its a different and unique opportunity that not many people can claim to have done. I am one of those people that likes to try new things and experience the thrill and excitement that comes along with it.
A couple months ago, my friend and I were talking about everything that this country (the United States) has to offer and instead of us going out to see it, there we were sitting in a booth at McDonald's. That's when we decided that we needed to take a cross-country road trip. We decided that we didn't necessarily have to do it together because realistically when would we ever be able to? But, we both felt that it was something we need to experience. I have lived in the Northeast, specifically Connecticut, for my entire life. And most places that I travel to, or go to regularly, are all in the Northeast as well. I like to think that I am a well-rounded and open minded person, but how can I be when I have never left my sheltered home in the Northeast? There are so many different types of people, food, cultures, and customs out there in my own country that I will never get to be a part of if I don't leave. I believe that for me to claim well-roundness that I need to experience life outside of the safe nest of the Northeast.
One of the final things that I would like to accomplish is to make a difference. I realize that this idea is cliche and everyone claims to have this same goal, but I, however, don't want to do it in the standard fashion. What I should say is, I don't need to have my name remembered by everyone that succeeds me or have a building named after me or even start a life-changing organization. All I need to accomplish to make a difference is to know that at some point during my life I helped to make someones life better. Whether it be by a piece of advice that I have given them or because of the smile that I gave to someone walking down the street.
C- Why do these things matter? What does humanity as a whole gain from these accomplishments?
Humanity, as a whole, benefits from all the underlying ideas of these accomplishments, not necessarily the actual deed itself.
Take sky diving for example. Most people probably won't ever get the chance to go sky diving but they will get the opportunity to experience new things and widen their horizons. You don't need to jump from a plane to experience new things. All you need to do is be willing to throw yourself out there and look for opportunities. And when one does come, don't pass it up because who knows if it is ever going to come again.
Its the same thing with cross-country road trip. Again, most people won't get the chance to travel to a wide variety of places, but if they are open-minded about different cultures and willing to participate in different social events they will still get the same learning opportunity. Humanity as a whole needs to get rid of the "I'm superior" attitude that it has. If it can do this, people will realize that other cultures have so much to offer. And by making yourself acquainted with the various types or traditions that are out there you will have a better appreciation and understanding of your own culture.
Not only are the concepts that are behind sky diving and traveling important to humanity, but so is getting an education. In the United States, everyone has the opportunity to go to school and receive a diploma. However, not everyone takes advantage of this opportunity, and even those that do don't follow the same path. What a person chooses to learn or not to learn is based on their interests. You don't need the same amount of schooling to become a carpenter as you would need to become a doctor. But both professions are incredibly important. It's about what you do with what you learn, whether you are learning inside a classroom or learning from life experiences. How much actual schooling you get doesn't matter as much as what you do with your knowledge.
Education and the ability to make a difference go hand in hand. If you are able to use what you know to help someone else, then you have made a difference, even if what you were able to give was small. If all of humanity took their knowledge and used it to help someone else out instead of just using it for their own gain, our world would be much better off. Humanity as a whole doesn't need to solve every single problem or make life perfect for everyone to make a difference. All someone has to do is show kindness and willingness to share your knowledge with others.
Many people will ask why having a family is important because some never get married and live by themselves their whole lives. However, even though they may not have a blood related family close by them they still find companionship. Whether this companionship is through co-workers, life-long friends, or even pets. No one is ever truly alone in life even though it seems that way sometimes. Part of being a human is the need for interaction. The only thing that is different is the way this need is fulfilled.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Is there permanence?
A little over a year ago I watched my grandfather's limp body carried out of his bedroom and into the back of a hurse. I stood there with my grandma, my mom, dad, and sisters. I was crying because I knew he was dead, but I didn't fully understand the concept. Standing next to my grandma, I heard her exclaim, "He's never going to come home again!" Even though I knew this was true in my mind, I didn't accept the fact that is was real. Even to this day I still expect my grandpa to walk through our kitchen door carrying a box of donuts for us to eat. I can still hear his low voice saying, "And we're off, like a herd of turtles!" whenever I pull out of the driveway. It's occasions like these when you realize how permanent death is. until you come face to face with it, you never truly understand.
Even though we are all mortals, we do not take that fact into consideration when we go about our day to day lives. As a teenager, I can say that me and others alike don't fully understand how short life is. We all have the mind set that nothing is ever going to happen to us, that we are invincible. As someone who is still very young, we don't experience death as much as older people do. Take Enkidu's reaction to his death for example. He didn't truly understand his mortality until he was on his deathbed (pg. 91). He was always a mortal throughout the entire novel, but he never came to terms with it because he never thought death was going to happen to him.
Our world also tries to hide the fact that everybody grows old and eventually dies. Everywhere you look there are ads telling you to buy anti-aging cream that will give you younger looking skin in just 7 days!! You never see any TV commercials for a cemetery or a gravestone maker. No one likes to talk about death or face the fact that it will eventually happen. And when the few brave souls who try to bring up the subject it is, more often than not, quickly shut down with the comment, "It's not going to happen for a while so lets not worry about it now." But you can't stop it, no matter how much cream you lather on your body.
Because we have gotten so good at ignoring death, we have lost sight of the fact that our world isn't permanent. Everything about our lives is constantly changing; whether it be climate changes or technological ones. Time is continuing to move forward whether we like it or not. And, time doesn't care if we are ready to accept our fate. When you study nature and its past you can see the cycles that it has gone through. Approximately 99.9% of the world's various species have gone extinct. And that was nature's doing. As humans, we try to keep everything the same, fearing change. Maybe we should take a lesson from the animals that are considered "beneath" us for once. They don't seem to have a problem with dying, in fact, they seem to have embraced that fact.
I once asked this same grandfather what he thought of the life he lived and if he had any regrets. He told me that life was too short to regret anything that you did; that what happens happens for a reason. He also said that everything you do has some sort of hidden lesson and its your job to find that lesson and master it. He then told me that one of his favorite lessons to learn was the art of passing on his wisdom. He said that was the greatest thing that life had ever taught him to do. To my grandfather, passing on his wisdom to me and others around me was what gave his life meaning. And I agree with him. Even though we all die in the end, its what we do during the time that we have that counts. They are always going to be people who surpass you in life so why not pass along your experiences to them? Its the passing on of your knowledge to those around you that gives life its meaning.
Even though we are all mortals, we do not take that fact into consideration when we go about our day to day lives. As a teenager, I can say that me and others alike don't fully understand how short life is. We all have the mind set that nothing is ever going to happen to us, that we are invincible. As someone who is still very young, we don't experience death as much as older people do. Take Enkidu's reaction to his death for example. He didn't truly understand his mortality until he was on his deathbed (pg. 91). He was always a mortal throughout the entire novel, but he never came to terms with it because he never thought death was going to happen to him.
Our world also tries to hide the fact that everybody grows old and eventually dies. Everywhere you look there are ads telling you to buy anti-aging cream that will give you younger looking skin in just 7 days!! You never see any TV commercials for a cemetery or a gravestone maker. No one likes to talk about death or face the fact that it will eventually happen. And when the few brave souls who try to bring up the subject it is, more often than not, quickly shut down with the comment, "It's not going to happen for a while so lets not worry about it now." But you can't stop it, no matter how much cream you lather on your body.
Because we have gotten so good at ignoring death, we have lost sight of the fact that our world isn't permanent. Everything about our lives is constantly changing; whether it be climate changes or technological ones. Time is continuing to move forward whether we like it or not. And, time doesn't care if we are ready to accept our fate. When you study nature and its past you can see the cycles that it has gone through. Approximately 99.9% of the world's various species have gone extinct. And that was nature's doing. As humans, we try to keep everything the same, fearing change. Maybe we should take a lesson from the animals that are considered "beneath" us for once. They don't seem to have a problem with dying, in fact, they seem to have embraced that fact.
I once asked this same grandfather what he thought of the life he lived and if he had any regrets. He told me that life was too short to regret anything that you did; that what happens happens for a reason. He also said that everything you do has some sort of hidden lesson and its your job to find that lesson and master it. He then told me that one of his favorite lessons to learn was the art of passing on his wisdom. He said that was the greatest thing that life had ever taught him to do. To my grandfather, passing on his wisdom to me and others around me was what gave his life meaning. And I agree with him. Even though we all die in the end, its what we do during the time that we have that counts. They are always going to be people who surpass you in life so why not pass along your experiences to them? Its the passing on of your knowledge to those around you that gives life its meaning.
Monday, September 17, 2007
...heroism?
In every book you read or movie you see, there is always a protagonist. And, normally, this person must face evil and defeat the odds to protect others around, save the world, or just make it make home alive. How each of these people do it however, varies; whether they kill anything and everything perceived to be against them or defy the rules society puts out in order to make life better. They are always seen in the end as someone who was fearless, courageous, and working towards bettering humanity. However, are all these characters heroes? And if so, what makes them a hero? And why do they all seem to be men? Why not a woman heroine? Is there even a point to having a hero?
To be a hero, you must accomplish some sort of goal, whether it be the one that you originally set out to complete or some other one created along the way. A hero is someone that doesn't just follow a specific road to reach his or her goal. A real hero learns along the way and grows as a person. In reality, a hero isn't perfect. They do make mistakes because they are human. However, a real hero is someone that takes those mistakes and uses them to make their future and possibly the future of others better. When asked, many people say that to be a hero you need to have good morals and do the right thing, but I don't believe that this is always the case. Sure it great to know the difference between right and wrong and to always strive to be a better person, but that doesn't mean that those people who don't always do the right thing aren't heroes. One of my very good friends can most likely be classified as an uneducated, wild, and rebellious person. However, he is someone that I consider to be a hero. Granted, he hasn't always made the best decisions in life and never completed his education, but he is still someone that I look up to because he takes all those mistakes he has made in life and makes sure that those he cares about don't make the same ones. His life was never very easy for him growing up in a broken family, but he always made the best of it and is one of the most optimistic people I know. I have always admired him and have always wanted to have his outlook on life. He is the kind of person that I want to be when I grow up, he is one of my heroes.
I truly believe that anyone can be a hero. To be a hero to someone, you just need someone to look up to you. I know when I was younger, I thought my parents knew everything and could do no wrong. To me, they were heroes. Now, I'm sure if you took my parents and made them characters in a movie, it would probably be very boring for most people. However, because they were there for me as role models they became my heroes. You don't need to save the world from total destruction or lead an army into a great victory during a war to be a hero. All you need is someone that believe in you to be the best you can be.
According to most books, heroes are almost always male. Very rarely do you ever see a woman triumph over the great perils and mythical creatures brought to life by creative minds of writers. But, men do not always have to be the hero of every tale. Back in the early centuries, and even in the earlier years of this century, women were always perceived as the caretakers of the house and children. They didn't, commonly, have jobs or were very well educated. It is only very recently in our country that women were granted equal rights and suffrage. And, in some parts of the world, women are still treated with disrespect and considered the mans' property. It is because of this dominance that men always seemed to claim over women that makes them the natural hero of every story. When you go to the movies, its always a guy that saves the day and ends up with that hapless girl that he saved somewhere in the middle of the movie. But this idea of males as the natural heroes was onyl created becaue society made everyone believe that males were stonger, smarter, and the all around more superior race.
Bertold Brecht once said "Unhappy is the land that need heroes." and I completely disgree with this statement. I believe that everyone needs a hero no matter what age, gender, or nationality you are. Having a hero gives you a sense of purpose in your life and a vote of self confidence in a way. When you are able to see someone accomplishing their goals it motivates you to do the same. Even though the goal of a fictional hero may be trying to save the world and your goal is to graduate from high school and get into college, its always relieving to know that there is someone out there working to help otheres and stand up for what they believe in. Having a hero in your life, whether it be fictional or from reality, gives you someone to look up too, admire, and strive to be like. Eventually everyone will choose their own path in life, and, most likely it will be different than you originally thought it would be, but that orginal boost to start paving your path was given to you by your hero.
To be a hero, you must accomplish some sort of goal, whether it be the one that you originally set out to complete or some other one created along the way. A hero is someone that doesn't just follow a specific road to reach his or her goal. A real hero learns along the way and grows as a person. In reality, a hero isn't perfect. They do make mistakes because they are human. However, a real hero is someone that takes those mistakes and uses them to make their future and possibly the future of others better. When asked, many people say that to be a hero you need to have good morals and do the right thing, but I don't believe that this is always the case. Sure it great to know the difference between right and wrong and to always strive to be a better person, but that doesn't mean that those people who don't always do the right thing aren't heroes. One of my very good friends can most likely be classified as an uneducated, wild, and rebellious person. However, he is someone that I consider to be a hero. Granted, he hasn't always made the best decisions in life and never completed his education, but he is still someone that I look up to because he takes all those mistakes he has made in life and makes sure that those he cares about don't make the same ones. His life was never very easy for him growing up in a broken family, but he always made the best of it and is one of the most optimistic people I know. I have always admired him and have always wanted to have his outlook on life. He is the kind of person that I want to be when I grow up, he is one of my heroes.
I truly believe that anyone can be a hero. To be a hero to someone, you just need someone to look up to you. I know when I was younger, I thought my parents knew everything and could do no wrong. To me, they were heroes. Now, I'm sure if you took my parents and made them characters in a movie, it would probably be very boring for most people. However, because they were there for me as role models they became my heroes. You don't need to save the world from total destruction or lead an army into a great victory during a war to be a hero. All you need is someone that believe in you to be the best you can be.
According to most books, heroes are almost always male. Very rarely do you ever see a woman triumph over the great perils and mythical creatures brought to life by creative minds of writers. But, men do not always have to be the hero of every tale. Back in the early centuries, and even in the earlier years of this century, women were always perceived as the caretakers of the house and children. They didn't, commonly, have jobs or were very well educated. It is only very recently in our country that women were granted equal rights and suffrage. And, in some parts of the world, women are still treated with disrespect and considered the mans' property. It is because of this dominance that men always seemed to claim over women that makes them the natural hero of every story. When you go to the movies, its always a guy that saves the day and ends up with that hapless girl that he saved somewhere in the middle of the movie. But this idea of males as the natural heroes was onyl created becaue society made everyone believe that males were stonger, smarter, and the all around more superior race.
Bertold Brecht once said "Unhappy is the land that need heroes." and I completely disgree with this statement. I believe that everyone needs a hero no matter what age, gender, or nationality you are. Having a hero gives you a sense of purpose in your life and a vote of self confidence in a way. When you are able to see someone accomplishing their goals it motivates you to do the same. Even though the goal of a fictional hero may be trying to save the world and your goal is to graduate from high school and get into college, its always relieving to know that there is someone out there working to help otheres and stand up for what they believe in. Having a hero in your life, whether it be fictional or from reality, gives you someone to look up too, admire, and strive to be like. Eventually everyone will choose their own path in life, and, most likely it will be different than you originally thought it would be, but that orginal boost to start paving your path was given to you by your hero.
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