What is a Hero? 11/20/20
We have spent the last fifteen weeks analyzing characters from ancient political texts, debating whether or not they are heroes. We have made and scrapped a number of definitions of heroism and written seemingly hundreds of blog posts of what we view to be heroism in the news. So, after this semester of studying and challenging my conceptions of heroism, what is my definition? I think that heroism is showing softness in a world intent on making you harder. It is showing compassion when it would be easier to be indifferent. It is also mustering the strength to show up when you feel unworthy or ineffective. Heroism is shown in everyday acts of kindness and courage. My professor who in our last class yesterday showed more empathy and compassion to students than I had seen any adult show this entire year is my hero. Her simple act of thanking us for continuing to show up and survive during the weirdest semester any of us had ever seen, while offering unquestioned extensions with grace was an act of heroism. My mother, who is a grade school counselor, who organized a food drive at her school and raised $8000 for a local food pantry in a time when more and more people are out of jobs and facing food insecurity, is a hero of mine. My friends that are still ceaselessly organizing for the Black Lives Matter movement months after the “hype” died down, after receiving death threats regularly, because Black people are still being killed every day, are my heroes. Of course, I still have “big name” heroes like AOC and RBG and Malala Yousafzai. However, if this semester has taught me anything about heroism, it is that sometimes, the smallest actions mean the most, even when they are not written about.