ACT Prep
21 May 2014
Everyday Hero When I think of the word hero, I think of the countless Spiderman figures lying at the bottom of my brother’s toy chest, or even Prince Charming rescuing Sleeping Beauty from her seemingly endless slumber. However, what usually does not come to mind, are the true real life heroes that I believe posses higher superpowers than the Incredibles ever could. Though they do not have the ability to fly or read minds, one way or another, these people have helped someone in a tough situation. A true hero can be anyone from the firefighters at the station to your older sister living in the room next door. They may have helped to save your life, or merely helped you get through your math homework last night. Whatever the case, one quality that all true heroes must possess is the ability to be an example of goodwill in the world. A hero will help someone because they want to, not because they have to. Though they are not perfect, no one is, a hero will continue to put others first when they know that it is most important to do so. Three years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news came as an utter shock to everyone, considering the fact that she was one of the healthiest and most active members of my family. She played tennis and practiced yoga at least four times a week; always ate healthy and organic foods, and on top of all this, there was barely any history of breast cancer on our family tree! Though her case was not as bad as others, it still required her to undergo weeks of arduous chemotherapy and radiation. Through her darker days, she herself would be the one to calm me down and reassure me that everything would be okay. The night before my mother’s surgery, I started to cry, scared and frustrated with what was happening around me. Though she was also frightened and anxious, my mother was the one to comfort me and explain that a plastic surgeon did not actually turn people into plastic, as I