A hero can be defined as someone whose strength, brave acts, or fine qualities you admire. Heroes have long been prevalent in our society. Lately "super" heroes have become super popular. To me, the concept has been someone you look up to and wish to be more like.
As a child, I remember being asked in school quite often who my heroes were. Like it was a normal thing to have and share. Other children would reference their parents, grandparents, coaches, or teachers. They would even let you include singers or athletes you admired. My family was never typically heroic. I had no coaches, and liked none of my teachers all that much. I hated sports, and even singers to me have always just been the conduit of what I love. I never knew what to say.
As an adult, I am still searching. Though it would be apt and honorable to list some human rights activist as a hero, it would also be dishonest. I'm not even pretending to strive to be that great. But I have found that I did have childhood heroes - they were just mostly fictional. And largely female.
Laugh if you will, but Buffy and Xena are the feminist icons that taught me a girl could be physically and emotionally strong despite adversity. Because of adversity. No knight in shining armor needed. This is heroic to me because growing up as a born again Baptist, this isn't the lesson you are taught. No females in my life stood up to men (or vampires) as an equal. Women weren't allowed to be leaders above men, or to strive for a life without men or children. Female heroines of Christian culture always fell short for me because they were valued for their meek and servile qualities. Bleh.
So, Joss Whedon is also sort of a hero to me because he created Buffy, and Robert Tapert for Xena.
As a teenager, I began to value the works of poets like Dorothy Parker, whose blunt and morbid prose got me through high school. Silvia Plath was by far the greatest strength to me when I was in my massive depressive slump in college, despite her own eventual self destruction. In many ways they are the foundation for the poetry I write today. Recently I have discovered Rupi Kaur and her work The Sun and Her Flowers, which has been a revelation. I don't know if this makes them heroes, but it does make them admirable and brave to me.
In terms of expression through art, Frida Kahlo is my biggest hero. She lived a life of pain and turned it into beauty. She had such a vibrant self-awareness that she portrayed through her surreal and sometimes visceral artwork. How could that not be heroic?
The past few years I have been searching for inspiration as a boss. Been living that Manager life, which is terrible and exhausting, but also necessary to my journey. But balancing professionalism with authenticity is sort of strange and hard. Sophia Amoruso of Nasty Gal has become a hero to me with her ballsy entrepreneurial spirit. I'm not sure I ever want to start my own business, but if I did, she has shown me that it's possible to remain your cool, weird self while doing so. And even that it's okay to fail sometimes, so long as you pick yourself up eventually. #GirlBoss Other women like Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling have also inspired me in this way.
Musically, some fantastic women like Joan Jett, Kathleen Hanna, and Brody Dalle, taught me it was awesome to be loud and crass and, well, "unladylike". David Bowie of course (not a woman) is an inspiration in his no fucks given long career (R.I.P) creating convention by defying it. That's all I want to do.
Finally, yes, someone in my family has become heroic to me. My Grandfather. First generation Mexican/American. Joined the Army and jumped out of airplanes. He was injured and discharged with a purple heart. Became a History, Spanish, and Math teacher, then eventually the Principal. Aside from all that, I've always known him to be heroic in everyday ways. Like how he takes care of the many many animals my Grandmother insists on acquiring, even though he has no real fondness for them. His love for her and his family is the most heroic thing to me.
Sorry this post has been so unforgivably long. But if you made it this far, your prize is...NOTHING! Congrats.
As a child, I remember being asked in school quite often who my heroes were. Like it was a normal thing to have and share. Other children would reference their parents, grandparents, coaches, or teachers. They would even let you include singers or athletes you admired. My family was never typically heroic. I had no coaches, and liked none of my teachers all that much. I hated sports, and even singers to me have always just been the conduit of what I love. I never knew what to say.
As an adult, I am still searching. Though it would be apt and honorable to list some human rights activist as a hero, it would also be dishonest. I'm not even pretending to strive to be that great. But I have found that I did have childhood heroes - they were just mostly fictional. And largely female.
Laugh if you will, but Buffy and Xena are the feminist icons that taught me a girl could be physically and emotionally strong despite adversity. Because of adversity. No knight in shining armor needed. This is heroic to me because growing up as a born again Baptist, this isn't the lesson you are taught. No females in my life stood up to men (or vampires) as an equal. Women weren't allowed to be leaders above men, or to strive for a life without men or children. Female heroines of Christian culture always fell short for me because they were valued for their meek and servile qualities. Bleh.
So, Joss Whedon is also sort of a hero to me because he created Buffy, and Robert Tapert for Xena.
As a teenager, I began to value the works of poets like Dorothy Parker, whose blunt and morbid prose got me through high school. Silvia Plath was by far the greatest strength to me when I was in my massive depressive slump in college, despite her own eventual self destruction. In many ways they are the foundation for the poetry I write today. Recently I have discovered Rupi Kaur and her work The Sun and Her Flowers, which has been a revelation. I don't know if this makes them heroes, but it does make them admirable and brave to me.
In terms of expression through art, Frida Kahlo is my biggest hero. She lived a life of pain and turned it into beauty. She had such a vibrant self-awareness that she portrayed through her surreal and sometimes visceral artwork. How could that not be heroic?
The past few years I have been searching for inspiration as a boss. Been living that Manager life, which is terrible and exhausting, but also necessary to my journey. But balancing professionalism with authenticity is sort of strange and hard. Sophia Amoruso of Nasty Gal has become a hero to me with her ballsy entrepreneurial spirit. I'm not sure I ever want to start my own business, but if I did, she has shown me that it's possible to remain your cool, weird self while doing so. And even that it's okay to fail sometimes, so long as you pick yourself up eventually. #GirlBoss Other women like Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling have also inspired me in this way.
Musically, some fantastic women like Joan Jett, Kathleen Hanna, and Brody Dalle, taught me it was awesome to be loud and crass and, well, "unladylike". David Bowie of course (not a woman) is an inspiration in his no fucks given long career (R.I.P) creating convention by defying it. That's all I want to do.
Finally, yes, someone in my family has become heroic to me. My Grandfather. First generation Mexican/American. Joined the Army and jumped out of airplanes. He was injured and discharged with a purple heart. Became a History, Spanish, and Math teacher, then eventually the Principal. Aside from all that, I've always known him to be heroic in everyday ways. Like how he takes care of the many many animals my Grandmother insists on acquiring, even though he has no real fondness for them. His love for her and his family is the most heroic thing to me.
Sorry this post has been so unforgivably long. But if you made it this far, your prize is...NOTHING! Congrats.
