On heroes

Today while I was at work I visited a classroom and the students were talking about their heroes.  I didn't have a chance to read their papers or really think about who my heroes were but tonight I will delve into my my mind to explore this topic.

In the past whenever I had to write about who my hero was I would always say that my hero was my mom.  While she and I have always had a somewhat tense relationship I have always admired her and wanted to be like her.  At an early age I was made aware of what my mom accomplished in her life. She was the first in her family to graduate from college and she did in fantastic fashion for her time.  She left the small island of Kauai   and attended college in Colorado.  After college she moved back home for awhile but ended up moving away, working on the mainland and eventually teaching in Germany and Morocco.  When I was younger I would sneak into her closet to look at her pictures and postcard collection from her travels and also play with the clothes and shoes that she brought back from her glamorous life.  Growing up I knew that I needed to be just like mom.  I thought she was incredibly brave to see the world.

Well, I ended up learning first hand just how brave and courageous my mom was because just like her I went away to college and also studied abroad in Spain.  There were many days when I cried and called her in the middle of the night with one disaster after another.  While I was doing exactly what my mom did that made her my hero, I never thought that I was being courageous.  I was just emulating my hero.

Today, when I think about heroes I think about Dannika.  Dannika, is seriously someone I wish I could be like.  She is a little girl who knows exactly what she wants and is fearless in her pursuit of it.
I admire Dannika because I was nothing like her at her age. I didn't ever want to stand out. I was afraid of everything. I feared not fitting in.  I wanted to be like everyone else even though no matter how hard I tried I could never be like the popular girls.  So when I see Dannika dressing however she pleases with her "interesting" sense of fashion I wish I was as daring as she.  I wish I had her confidence even as an adult. I wish I was as brazen as she.  Someone once described Dannika as, "bold." And when I think about her that word always comes to mind.

Growing up I was also a huge chicken and still am to this day, but not Dannika!  The first time she was ever out in the ocean learning to surf she charged the waves, attempted to duck dive them, got pounded, laughed and jumped pack on and paddled out for more, and then started catching her own waves.  She charges everything in life with that high energy and excitement. Watching her when she is in her zone is mesmerizing.  She makes me want to be a more of a risk-taker and more fearless.

But probably the reason that Dannika is my hero is that she looks right past people's outsides and right into their hearts.  Dannika has never seen any one's skin color or disabilities.  She is always the kid trying to help other people. She is always befriending people on the periphery.  Her huge heart is what vaults her to heroine status in my eyes.  I wish more people could be like her.