As young children we all had our share of superheroes; whether they were a world saving Superman or the crime fighting Batman of Gotham City, we admired them. Then as we grew older, we realized that heroes didn’t have to save the world but just change the world for the better with their achievement or abilities to help others. A hero is a person who will do anything in their power to stand up for what they believe in, or risk it all to help others in need.
As we recall the many different heroes we have encountered in our lives, a more recent one that comes to mind would be Beowulf. Beowulf is described as a perfect hero who fought for his people and vanquished evil with his extraordinary abilities to bring peace and justice. He was wise, noble, and brave and was a true hero. Beowulf was neither a coward nor greedy. He was brave enough to fight Grendel, his mother, and the fire dragon. King Hrothgar rewarded him for his deeds and gave him gifts and weapons.
The gifts Beowulf received were given to him as a reward for killing the evil monsters of which he had never asked for. Beowulf’s life was definitely a battle against pride, greed, and self-concern. His actions ffected the lives of others, therefore, he always did what he thought was right and what he knew would benefit other people. By killing Grendel, his mother and the dragon, he saved many lives and property. His strength, his ability to put his people’s welfare before his own, and the fact that he does not fear death support the fact that Beowulf was a true epic hero.
Other than Beowulf, there are many real life heroes of our present day. We might not realize it, but, these men and women risk their lives to saves so many people each day, and it was only through their strength, etermination and courage that so many people were saved on 9/11. The group of people, if you haven’t already figured it out, is the firefighters and the “men in blue”. Another group of people that are also risking their lives for us to have a better and safer place to live are our troops.
Even if we are not agree with President Bush’s decision to go to war, we should still support our troops, to help keep up their on morale. They live their lives like each and every one of us. They get up each morning, brush their teeth, and get dressed to go to work. They work hard ll day to earn their paychecks in order to provide for their families. When they get home, they spend the rest of their day with their families just to show them how much they care.
They may not make the local newspaper or they may not receive any awards, but they make our lives safer and easier. I am talking about the volunteer firefighters that go out and save lives every day. These people deserve much more credit than they receive. Though most of them are noble and will probably tell you otherwise, they do things for us that we don’t and probably will never know about. We take hese people for granted. It is things like the events of September eleventh that make these people stand out in our hearts.
It is events like September eleventh that make us remember those who lost their lives trying to save others. Heroes have been around since the beginning of time, making many changes throughout history and becoming the best hero that the world has ever seen. Heroes come in many different shapes and sizes. Each person has their on hero, but for me it’s not just one person. There are so many heroes I look up to, each of them are unique in their own way.