I submitted an article to the Heroes section of TeenInk somewhat recently. It basically said that I don’t know if I could choose only one person to call my hero. I have thought about what I said and while thinking, I decided that I do have a person whom I can call my hero.

Some people may say a hero is someone older than you, someone you personally know, someone who has done something everyone knows about, etc. I don’t think a hero necessarily has to be an older person or a close friend or family member. My hero is younger than me, but we are related.

I have decided that I could name my hero. His name is Marcus. He is my cousin. He isn’t necessarily a wise person or someone who does something great everyday with his life, but he has taught me to appreciate some of the more simple things in life.

I am now in the 11th grade. When I was in 8th grade, Marcus had a brain tumor which had to be surgically removed. Thankfully, the tumor was benign. When the surgeons removed it, Marcus lost his sight. He looked down on life only once. Ever since then, he has been an extremely happy 2nd-grader. He is very typical of a nine-year-old. He likes to tell jokes, play new games, and he likes to play tricks on people. I love spending time with him. We go to movies whenever there is a good one and I babysit him every chance I get.

I say that Marcus helps me to appreciate the more simple things in life. He doesn’t have his sight and that causes me to realize how lucky I truly am to be able to see, to walk, to talk. I can do everything I need to. Writing that may make me a little hypocritical, but I don’t care.

If everyone could see how happy and fulfilled Marcus is and how much he fulfills everyone around him, then they might just be able to better appreciate simplicity.