In all seriousness, I don't believe in having heroes. If you have one, that's great for you but, for myself personally, it's not for me. Of course, there is a list of people that I have admired throughout my life but I've not ever strived to be like anyone. I've only ever wanted to be myself. I don't believe that people should measure themselves on what others have already done. I believe people should achieve their goals for their own standards and not because someone else thinks something should happen in a specific way. A lot of times, heroes end up being put on pedestals and become this bigger than life image. So not only does the hero have to live up to an impossible image but the person strives to become an impossible image. Let's face it--that's a lot of pressure to live up to on both ends.
On the flip side of things, to take the pressure off people and to give anybody a shot at the spotlight, I'm always naming people as my hero of the moment, day, week, hour, whatever. Don't worry, I don't do it to make fun of the person though I may poke fun at that person. It simply means that person has done something that captured my attention and tickled me pink. My past heroes of the moment have gone from my husband, to Bugs Bunny, to the man dressed as an executioner at the Renaissance Faire. So for my hero of the week for unit 1, it's Robert from my comp. class, because I adored his profile. Stay tuned folks, you never know who I may name as my next hero and it may just be you next. :)
Lila, I think we need our heroes today more than ever, they give us an idea of our own potentials, and they show us how far we can go, how high we can climb, that our dreams are not impossible and can be reached. We learn from people that have accomplished those feats which we establish as goals, we learn from their mistakes, we learn how they accomplished those feats and get more facts to help us modify our goals accordingly. There is a lot of confusion between heroes and celebrities. My idea of most heroes are that they are shy, generous, have anonymity , are successful, intelligent, wise, sharing, industrious, and a positive influence on those around them. Celebrities are quite the opposite, like the spotlight, self-centered, gregarious but with a “plastic” superficial airs, greedy, and detrimental to society due to the way they are treated, set atop unreachable pillars and worshiped.
ReplyDeleteRobert! & yet another reason why you're my hero of the week, cause you really hit on the heart of the matter. Celebrities really bother me. It's sad to live in a world, where an actor is more hailed as a hero than a medical researcher who finds a breakthrough in curing cancer or a soldier who puts their life on the line to fight for our freedom.
ReplyDeleteLila,
ReplyDeleteWith heroes, I think people start to put them on pedestals, and that as you said is just too much pressure on a person. I think my hero was my dad, because I could look up to him and value the things he did for the family and wished that I too would have the ambition and drive he had when I became an adult. I never looked outside of the family for heroes, probably because my parents and siblings were there to fill that spot.