Hero We Go
By Mia
Welcome!
Chernobyl Disaster; April 26, 1986
A Pamphlet Handed Out by The US to Inform People of Nuclear Radiation
Chernobyl Now
An Accident that Brought Out a Hero
A hero, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. Most people would think that a hero is a person who served in war or pushed someone out of the way of a car. Nevertheless, being a hero isn't always defined as saving someone's life. A hero is a person who inspires others to be a better version of themselves.
A hero is an older brother, protecting his little sister when she is made fun off. Imagine how bad his little sister feels when kids call her names. Consider the anger that is building up in her brother’s head when he finds out what is happening. How will he prove that he cares for his sister? He shows his little sister that he heeds her feeling and when she feels glum, he will always be there to make her feel better. That is when she knows that her brother will sacrifice anything for her joy. Realizing his devotion to her, a true hero is displayed in the little girl’s eyes.
A hero is a mother who sacrifices anything for the safety of her family. My great aunt, Bronislava, was a doctor in Ukraine at the time of the Chernobyl disaster. Without telling her family, she left to Chernobyl to research the effects of radiation on the human body. Days later, she came back to Odessa urging her son and his young family to the leave the country as soon as possible. They came to St. Petersburg, Russia, where there was no radiation. By doing this, my great aunt saved her family from future genetic mutations, infections, and cancer. Her grandson, at the time, was seven months old, so getting him out of the country drastically helped his health for later years. She saved people’s lives; that confirmed her act of heroism.
Nevertheless, a hero can be both an older brother protecting his little sister and a mother who would do anything to make sure her family is safe. Any person that motivates others to be better is a hero. When you see what someone else did for you, you push yourself to be more like them; you push yourself to be a hero for somebody else one day. Do you have someone in your life that is your hero? Would you risk anything for someone else? Being a hero means taking risks, but in the process, they make somebody a better person.
Joan Rivers: My Untouchable Hero
A hero is a person who inspires others to be better versions of themselves. One person who inspires me to be a better version of myself is Joan Rivers. She was a comedian, actress, writer, and producer who was very famous for her controversial humor. Throughout the many hardships she went through, Rivers never gave up or backed down. Her perseverance inspires me to never surrender to the troubles in life, no matter how bad they might be. Joan Rivers represents a true hero because of her perseverance and dedication to what she did.
Joan Rivers is a real hero because she pushed herself to be successful after going through many challenging experiences. In October 1986, Rivers was hired by Fox to host The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. Not even a year later, Rivers was fired, allegedly, because of her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, the executive producer of the show. Three months later in August 1987, Rosenberg committed suicide.
On top of that, Johnny Carson, the host of The Tonight Show and Rivers’s mentor, cut off all communication with her because he felt betrayed that Rivers left to host her own show at Fox. Carson was a father figure to Rivers and once told her, “‘God, you're funny. You're going to be a star,’” according to Contemporary Authors Online. Carson started her career and made her a permanent guest on The Tonight Show. After being shut out by him, getting fired, and losing her husband, Rivers got herself together and built a reputation for herself. She pushed herself to become one of the greatest female comedians of all time.
My personal hero, my great aunt Bronislava, and my untouchable hero, Joan Rivers, have something in common: they would both sacrifice anything for the people they love. That is what makes them both exceptional. Bronislava had an experience that many people didn't go through; she saved her family and friends from nuclear radiation. She may not have saved people in an obvious way, but she did save them from diseases and disorders that they could receive later in life. Also, most people don't lose their job and spouse in the matter of three months. Joan Rivers had to go through all of those tragedies. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture claims that a few weeks after Rosenberg’s death, “Rivers's agent canceled her contract, saying that no one would book a comedienne whose husband had just died--too unfunny. She slowly crept back into show business, doing gigs at tiny comedy clubs and appearing as the center square on The New Hollywood Squares (1986-1989). A year later she was asked to read for a small part in playwright Neil Simon's Broadway Bound (1987). She leapt at the chance, not only winning the part but also wowing critics." Rivers was able to overcome her loses and become an inspiration to many people. Heroes inspire people, and Bronislava and Joan Rivers are my heroes.
My heroes have inspired me to be a better person. They taught me to sacrifice anything for the people I love and always be able to stand back up from a low point in life. And so, if Joan Rivers were to give me any advice, she would probably state one of her most famous lines: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God's gift, that's why we call it the present.”