A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
A hero doesn't have to be all buff like Superman. He doesn't need to have a cape like Batman. He doesn't need sharp claws like Wolverine. Nor does he need webs to cling on like Spiderman. A hero is someone who is willing to give up all he has and face any problem and predicament head on. Just like how superheroes face villains in movies and comics.
And that non-super-powered HERO I'm talking about is my father. He may not be the perfect father but, he finds a way to support our needs and still finds a reason to smile. Yes, he may be a little rough around the edges but, he loves his family as much as he loves his self.
One time my family needed financial support and as a contractor, a job for him barely comes once a month so he sought the opportunity to go to Davao and worked for the Coke Company for almost two months. It was difficult both for my dad and my mom. I admire him because, even though it means being distant from his family he will still work just to support us and earn money for our needs. Also he sends the small salary he earns every week to us, not saving even a single cent for him.
My father always finds a way for the sake of our education, even if it means borrowing money from our close relatives, that’s how my brother graduated and became a licensed architect. Through dad’s endurance and industriousness, both my brother and sister graduated college and now both of them are also working very hard to return the favor to my parents.
It makes me emotional sometimes seeing my parents fighting over money. I mean, if I had a job then I can support myself and not be a nuisance to them. I get mad at my dad for several reasons but, I forgive my dad for picking me up late for school, scolding me for no reason, giving me spankings when I was 4, watching the news while I’m watching cartoons, cooking vegetables when I’m in the mood for chicken, not celebrating a birthday party for me, making me buy errands while I’m doing assignments, turning the volume down when I’m listening to the radio, and a whole lot more. But I want to him to forgive me also for going to the mall with my friends when I told him to pick me up at school, going home late at night, for beating up smaller kids when I was 4, not listening to him when he tells me that chicken is unhealthy, wanting a pool party which we can never afford, buying the wrong errands for him, listening to loud music when he’s asleep. I can never replace such a worthy father. He still loves me even if I’ve made several mistakes.
Every kid, every human has heroes of their own, fiction or non-fiction. They may all have different levels of physical prowess but the one thing Superman, Batman, Wolverine, Spiderman and my Dad have in common is that, they’re prepared to sacrifice for the ones they are protecting, may it be the people of the city or his family.
