January Blog: Personal Heroes

The concept of the literary hero is something that we see a lot as a culture; we have talked about it more times than I can count in English class alone. Heroes are never portrayed in exactly the same way in literature, but there are many similarities between them and they all serve a particular purpose in literature. What I want to talk about is the concept of personal heroes. I wonder what defines a personal hero and if there is any sort of common thread between the traits of people’s personal heroes. What is the purpose of a personal hero and why do we feel the need to have them?

What sparked these thoughts that I’m having is the passing of David Bowie. Before his death, I don’t know that I would have called him a hero to me. I never really felt like I had any idols or personal heroes because I understand that no one is perfect; heroes should be perfect, right? As people with flaws, could anyone ever really qualify as a hero? I guess I had the wrong idea about the whole concept. A personal hero doesn’t seem to have a lot of logic to it. For example, how could your hero be Neil Armstrong when he could have never done what he did without the people who built the spaceship; are they heroes too? So, it seems that the concept of a personal hero is illogical, which gives it a lot more freedom.

Anyway, David Bowie is a hero of mine. I love his music and see in him something that is unmatched by any other artist. Since I was a child I have loved his music; I remember listening to “Life on Mars” and telling my parents that it was my favorite song. Is it still my favorite song? No, probably not, but Bowie still has that effect on me today. His talent and creativity are inspirational to me. I aspire to be as incredible as I perceive him to be. This is coming off a bit like I worship the ground he walks on, which is not really the case. As I said, heroes are not perfect.

It seems to me that heroes are really just a source of inspiration; something to aspire to. Our heroes achieve in such a way that gives us the inspiration to do our best. I’m glad I’m not anyone’s hero; that seems like a lot of pressure.