What makes a hero? Is it swinging in to your friend’s rescue at the last second? A hero is more than a man in tights who comes to your rescue when your health is in danger, and it takes more than wearing your underwear inside out to be one. Heroes come in many forms.

A hero can simply be a person who has changed your life in such a way that has helped to shape the person you are today. All those years, when our uncle, or aunt, parent, or grandparent, pulled us aside to talk, or put us in time out, they were really saving us. Of course then, all it seemed like is that they were being jerks, because we had better things to do then sit on steps for fifteen minutes, or listen to another “God-forsaken lecture”. But in reality, they were just helping us mold our characters, because we weren’t ready yet to do it ourselves. They cared, and those time-outs and those lectures are what have kept us from becoming something shameful.

We ourselves can change someone’s life without knowing it. When you see that exhausted mother try to open the door, five grocery bags in one hand, and an infant in the other, running to help her could just change her entire outlook on the day. To her, it’s as if someone finally saw her, and helping her with the door made her feel important again. Sometimes it’s just that little spark that can ignite into a whole new perspective in one’s life. Caring is part of being a hero.

Heroes aren’t just wise elders that know better either. It can be that person that you call sobbing because your heart just got broken. It’s that person that helps you up after you’ve fallen flat on your face, despite their countless warnings. It’s those two friends that stand in front of you saying “If you mess with her, you mess with all of us.” Being a hero also takes courage. Not in the sense of being able to fight a thousand bugs single-handedly while your friend lies knocked out at your feet. But in the sense of being able to stand up for yourself, and those you love. Sometimes it takes more courage just to stay “no” or “cut it out” than it does to kill a giant mosquito.

In the end, heroes are simply just every day people that care about others and stand up for what they believe in. They can be found in the weight room just as well as in a science class. It’s the people that make a difference for the ones they love that are truly, at heart, heroes.