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Free Write
When I was first asked to answer a few questions regarding what a hero is, my idea of a "hero" was very unclear and vague. I defined "hero" as a person who is willing to sacrifice themselves for other people's lives. I believed that I did not personally know anyone that I could consider a hero. My ideas of a hero were heavily influenced by the classic "comic book superheroes" and based on what the news media says. -
Subway Story
In class, we watched a interview of a man called Wesley Autrey, better known as the "Subway Hero". Autrey saved a young man who was lying on the train tracks (due to a seizure) at a subway station in New York City. This incident fit perfectly with my previous idea of a hero (stated in Free Write) as Autrey was willing to sacrifice his own life for another person. This video strongly reinforced my previous definition of a hero. I was confident that I was on the right track. -
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Hero Project
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"Why Courage Matters" by John McCain - Roy Benavidez
Today in class, we discussed about a man who is another great example of a "hero". His name is Roy Benavidez. He is a man who has all the features and characteristics that a "war hero" has. Getting shot from every angle, he risked his own life and saved his comrades who were in danger. Learning about Roy Benavidez strengthened my previous definition of a hero even further; it seemed like putting one's life at risk was a required condition of being a hero. -
Interview: Kristi Quillen, Peace Corps Volunteer
This interview is what greatly shifted my ideas of a hero. After watching the video clip, I was certain that there was a huge flaw in my definition. I definitely considered her a "hero", but she didn't meet one of the core requirements I had stated: she didn't "risk" her life. After school, I pondered over this problem. I asked myself "Why do I think of her as a hero even though she doesn't fit into my definition? What is the key aspect that made her a hero?" I could not find any answer. -
Heroes in Literature
I tried my best to answer whether the protagonists of books/short stories were a hero or not, but I was completely lost at this point. After watching the interview of Kristi Quillen, I was certain that my definition was only partially correct; there was something more to it than sacrificing one's life. Atticus Finch was certainly hero to me, but my definition wouldn't agree with it. My subconsciousness had the answer, but I just couldn't figure it out. I had no clue what to do now. -
Choosing My Hero in the Library
Choosing my hero was not hard; I thought about if for a minute or two, then decided to pick Al Gore. I have always respected him since 7th grade after watching the documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth". I knew that he was my hero, but again, I couldn't explain why. However, I finally realized what the answer was; it was not that one had to risk life, but one needed to have the courage to make a change. Despite the criticism, Al Gore stood up to those who claimed that global warming was false. -
"Change the World" Powerpoint - 1st Day
Classifying heroes into classes helped clarify and distinguish various classes of heroes. I noticed that even though heroes can be divided into groups according to the field they worked at, they all have one aspect in common: bravery. Also, all of them made use of their courage and bravery by making a change in the world. It didn't matter whether the change was big or small; the purpose was to benefit others in some way. -
"Change the World" Powerpoint - 2nd Day
By watching several video clips, I observed various opinions on "how to make a change". "All We Gotta Do" by Hugh Laurie implies that there is no single solution for everything, as what we all are trying to change is different from one another. "The Year of the Rat" by Badly Drawn Boy shows that love has the power to change everything. "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer claims that we shouldn't wait for changes and actually be willing to take action to make the changes come true. -
First Blog Post: How I Chose My Subject
Al Gore truly inspired me to protect the environment, so my "dream job" eventually became being an environmental scientist.
He received a lot of criticism from many people, as some claim that global warming is not happening. I personally believe that it does not matter whether it is happening or not. What makes him a hero is the courage he had inside to alert the society that we are severely damaging the environment and encourage normal citizens to make a change about this serious problem. -
"Change the World" Powerpoint - 3rd Day (after school)
There were two video clips I watched. The first one was "The Youth of Today Music Video" by Amy Macdonald. It was a message to the adults/elders, criticizing that they should understand the culture of the teenagers and guide us to the right path, not solely blame us for our "odd" and "abnormal" actions, because we (teenagers) are going to be the "leaders of tomorrow". The "Last Generation" video clip had a shift in tone by reading the poem backwards, which was encouraging and optimistic at last. -
2nd Blog Post: Heroes in Literature
The second blog post is what helped me organize my thoughts and blend everything into one single piece. I was finally able to put my subconscious definition into words, and really look into my thinking process. My new definition of a hero is a person who have the courage to lead and help others for a better change in community. Everything made sense now; all heroes, both in literature and in real life, needed bravery in order to solve their problems and bring a greater benefit to everyone. -
First Chapter Friday: Share Something Interesting From Your Biographies
For this assignment, I picked a passage which describes Al Gore's life in college. It was very interesting because I didn't expect his performance to be very poor. He got a lot of C's in his courses, and was placed in a very lower league basketball team. It was interesting how this breaks the general idea of heroes being perfect in everything. I realized that even those who succeeded had times when they were struggling.
