Heroes are hard to describe. Whether people hear about them in a lecture on “Beowulf,” the new Avengers movie or a news headline about local firefighters, stories about heroes can be found almost everywhere.
The idea of heroes does not only play a strong role in contemporary pop culture, but the hero archetype has also helped form a number of societies over the course of many centuries.
The fascination with heroes of all kinds is so ingrained in our society that it”s no surprise the 2015 homecoming theme for the University of Idaho is “A Hero”s Homecoming.”
This incredibly broad theme begs the question – what does it really mean to be a hero?
Corrin Bond
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a hero as, “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities.”
The trouble with this definition is that abstract identifiers like “courage” and “noble” are broad in meaning and relative to the context in which they”re used.
What is considered an outstanding achievement? How exactly should courage be defined? For someone with selective mutism, speaking to a room full of strangers is an outstanding achievement. For a young child, courage can be as simple as sleeping without a nightlight or standing up to the class bully. Are these people heroes?
Although the warrior imagery is strong when UI”s mascot Joe Vandal is paired with this year”s homecoming theme, it”s important to remember that being a hero means more than fighting battles or performing some great superhuman feat.
Anyone can be a hero. A hero can be someone like a firefighter, who risks their life to save others. But a hero can also be someone who faces their fears, like a graduating college senior going out into the real world for the first time.
A hero can be a fictional character or the elderly couple down the street who volunteers to watch a single mother”s child when she”s having a hard day.
It”s also possible to be a hero without even knowing it – parents and teachers are often heroes to the children in their lives. An act as simple as returning someone”s lost cat can make that person a hero to a complete stranger.
It”s also important to remember that heroes make mistakes. Being a hero doesn”t equate to being perfect, it means living with integrity and taking accountability for your actions if you make a mistake.
When it comes to being a hero, there is no competition either. Since it”s such a relative concept, no single act of courage or bravery is more heroic than another.
Whether someone is a current student or graduated two or 10 or 40 years ago, if they”ve made the choice to face the day and take on the world it inherently makes them a hero.
None of us are perfect, but we can all be heroes in our own unique ways.
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected]