Who is a hero to you?

Maybe it is an influential person in history, like Martin Luther King Jr. or Isaac Newton. Maybe it is a fictional character in a book. Whomever it may be, heroes are individuals who put others above themselves and achieve great things—they make a difference. It is rather easy to recognize heroes in one's own life because heroes have distinguishable characteristics such as selflessness, humility, and determination. In my own life, my brother Tyler demonstrates these exact traits.

My brother has always shown great selflessness in daunting situations. For example, there was a period in my family's life where we were struggling financially. My mom could not work and neither could I. Tyler was of age and could help bring in money; he was 15. Although he could have been going out with his friends, he chose to help his family. There was another time when my stepfather needed to go to the hospital in the middle of the night and my mom was not home to take him. My brother stepped up and drove my stepdad even though he had school at 7 in the morning. 

Additionally, humility is one of my brother's prominent attributes. He was very active in the community and volunteered at church almost every Tuesday and Friday. He would also put together fundraisers for his club at school. My extended family would always give him accolades, telling him how proud they were of him. But he would say, "I'm not that great. I just like to help out because I know I should." Moreover, Tyler was asked to speak at a convention our church was having to recognize influential people, but he was hesitant. He said, "I'll just help put the event together, I don't need to speak about myself." 

Finally, one of the most important traits a hero can have is determination. My brother wanted to get into a prestigious university, but his SAT score was not high enough. I have never seen someone work so hard to achieve something in my life. He stayed up for hours studying, and even took off some days from volunteering. Once he finally achieved a sufficient score, he shifted his focus to buying a car. While juggling school, volunteering, and working, my brother managed to earn extra money by helping out at our cousin's diner. Even though it was a little worrisome to see him working that hard, he never stopped until he reached his goal. 

Heroes come in many different forms and possess qualities that make them heroes. They are people who create change, show compassion, and work for the better good of people. Everyone has someone who they consider to be a hero; someone who they look up to. My brother is my hero and will continue to be because of the heroic attributes he has.