My Hero, and why
Hope everybody had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. For those of you curious, I ran the Peachtree Roadrace and was able to finish in just over an hour. I was pretty proud of myself, and I had a blast.
I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, and I don't want every blog that I write to be about my dad, but he's really the one and only thing on my mind so that's about all the material I have. I am planning on going to physical therapy school after I graduate college, so my mom has been sending me links to all of these different scholarship essays that she thinks I should try to win so that I can help her out financially, and these recent events have really inspired my writing, so I wanted to post one of my essays. It's very straight to the point (I was only allotted 500 words and y'all probably know by now that I'm a fairly flowery writer, so I had to tone it down a little) but I thought it was pretty good. Again, I apologize for continuing to broadcast these thoughts about my father's death....I know that there's no way I can truly change any of your perspectives or share my knowledge without sharing the experience, but I hope that you'll continue to respect my struggles to get through this. I love you guys! Thanks for being awesome!
My Hero, and Why
A hero is defined as “a person noted for nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.” This said, it becomes safe to assume that a person exuding such attributes is identified not when they are with us, but rather, when they have passed on to a better life, leaving us to reflect upon their selflessness in hopes that we can embrace their character and strive to live by their example. This makes a hero out of the firefighter in 9/11 who rushed up the burning towers to rescue people, the police officer killed in the line of duty to enforce the law and maintain our safety, and the soldier who sleeps in the sand while defending our freedom. For me, however, this makes a hero out of my daddy.
My daddy never earned a purple heart, never bore a shiny badge, and never saved anyone’s life. He was merely a Godly man whose only endeavor was to live by the virtues of the Bible and to reach out to people who needed love. His carefree nature gave him the innocence of a child, thus allowing him to believe in the goodness of people and the faith of God’s will. Literally giving the shirt off his back, he was willing to invest whatever power he had to help the less fortunate and ease their troubled minds. His benevolence touched many people and he epitomized the notion of unconditional love with every person that he met. His wisdom stretched truth for miles, changing lives as he brought them to God. He dreamed of a world free of burden and pain and made the necessary steps, no matter how great or how little they were, to make his dream come true. This naivety allowed him to live life to the fullest, and his purpose was fulfilled. He died happy, forever able to embrace the peace of the Lord.
My daddy’s convictions became more poignant with his passing. I failed to listen to him for the past 21 years but have heard his words echoing in my head since his death. I’ve enveloped his character as I strive to be the person that he always wanted me to be. The love he embodied is emanated by my heart that he now inhabits, and my compassion is soaring as I struggle to see the goodness in people. Most importantly, my faith has grown stronger as I’ve learned to dream of a world where I can find pure, genuine happiness. With his passing, the impact my daddy made on my life has helped me see the light and like a child, perceive the impossible. I am a better person because of who my father was, and as paradoxical as it seems, the quality of my life has improved because of his endeavors in which I have now taken over. I have found my purpose from his example, and that makes him my hero.
I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, and I don't want every blog that I write to be about my dad, but he's really the one and only thing on my mind so that's about all the material I have. I am planning on going to physical therapy school after I graduate college, so my mom has been sending me links to all of these different scholarship essays that she thinks I should try to win so that I can help her out financially, and these recent events have really inspired my writing, so I wanted to post one of my essays. It's very straight to the point (I was only allotted 500 words and y'all probably know by now that I'm a fairly flowery writer, so I had to tone it down a little) but I thought it was pretty good. Again, I apologize for continuing to broadcast these thoughts about my father's death....I know that there's no way I can truly change any of your perspectives or share my knowledge without sharing the experience, but I hope that you'll continue to respect my struggles to get through this. I love you guys! Thanks for being awesome!
My Hero, and Why
A hero is defined as “a person noted for nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.” This said, it becomes safe to assume that a person exuding such attributes is identified not when they are with us, but rather, when they have passed on to a better life, leaving us to reflect upon their selflessness in hopes that we can embrace their character and strive to live by their example. This makes a hero out of the firefighter in 9/11 who rushed up the burning towers to rescue people, the police officer killed in the line of duty to enforce the law and maintain our safety, and the soldier who sleeps in the sand while defending our freedom. For me, however, this makes a hero out of my daddy.
My daddy never earned a purple heart, never bore a shiny badge, and never saved anyone’s life. He was merely a Godly man whose only endeavor was to live by the virtues of the Bible and to reach out to people who needed love. His carefree nature gave him the innocence of a child, thus allowing him to believe in the goodness of people and the faith of God’s will. Literally giving the shirt off his back, he was willing to invest whatever power he had to help the less fortunate and ease their troubled minds. His benevolence touched many people and he epitomized the notion of unconditional love with every person that he met. His wisdom stretched truth for miles, changing lives as he brought them to God. He dreamed of a world free of burden and pain and made the necessary steps, no matter how great or how little they were, to make his dream come true. This naivety allowed him to live life to the fullest, and his purpose was fulfilled. He died happy, forever able to embrace the peace of the Lord.
My daddy’s convictions became more poignant with his passing. I failed to listen to him for the past 21 years but have heard his words echoing in my head since his death. I’ve enveloped his character as I strive to be the person that he always wanted me to be. The love he embodied is emanated by my heart that he now inhabits, and my compassion is soaring as I struggle to see the goodness in people. Most importantly, my faith has grown stronger as I’ve learned to dream of a world where I can find pure, genuine happiness. With his passing, the impact my daddy made on my life has helped me see the light and like a child, perceive the impossible. I am a better person because of who my father was, and as paradoxical as it seems, the quality of my life has improved because of his endeavors in which I have now taken over. I have found my purpose from his example, and that makes him my hero.
posted by Stacy @ 10:57 PM
1 Comments:
At 2:02 PM ,
Staisha said...
wow...that's a really good essay! Stacy I miss you sooo much and I really hope I can make my way up to athens soon! I've been working a lot lately...but once I get a second to breathe, I'm going to call you so we can catch up! Great job on your run! If I would have entered, I'd probably still be trying to finish...ha. Love you!!!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home