Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” This statement embodies what it means to be a hero. Heroism does not only describe a person, but the actions of this person. To be labeled heroic, many assume that there is a grand gesture to be made, such as saving a city from evil, like most of the movies or stories that depict a heroic character. However, this is not always the case. Some of the most heroic people have not saved an entire city, but instead have demonstrated smaller gestures of heroism. Heroes tend to obtain the qualities of selflessness, sacrifice, perseverance and will stand up for what they believe in, whether it be saving a city or helping just one person.
Christopher Reeves character of Superman obtained those qualities, but as superman he made grand gestures by saving cities and fighting villains. Grand gestures are not the only actions that can make a person a heroic. People such as Mother Teresa, firefighters, teachers, and army personal have been depicted as heroic for not all the grand deeds they have done, but by the small acts they do to help the greater good. Having the qualities of selflessness, sacrifice, perseverance, and standing up for what is right can make an ordinary person into a hero.
To be selfless is a difficult task and can be defined as putting the well being of another person before the benefit of oneself. In New York Daily News there was an article published about a man who is believed to have the characteristic of selflessness. A firefighter explains how the death of his father in 9/11 is what inspired him to donate his bone marrow to a 60-year-old retired firefighter. The retired firefighter who received the marrow has two daughters and without the marrow would’ve died within weeks. The reason the donor decided to donate was to give a fellow firefighter more time with his children, si...