“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." – Christopher Reeve

To My Hero,

When one hears the word hero, their minds automatically picture Superman or a hero of that nature, but when I hear the word hero, I picture you. You are my role model, my inspiration, and my person. You have the strength of Superman and the heart of Aphrodite and nothing can stop you. I’m sure you know that you’re my hero, but you might not know exactly why.

Here’s why:

You showed me how to be a strong individual. I learned that absolutely nothing can bring me down. I watched you brave so many obstacles in your life-- the biggest one being cancer. If you can be so tough when battling cancer, I can be tough when facing my own obstacles. You taught me the strength to not give into peer pressure, to power through the pain, and to teach others the strength that you taught me. Without my hero’s strength, I would not have been able to get to where I am today.

You have taught me how to be kind and how to give everyone a chance. Your heart is so full of love and I strive to love everyone the way you do. No matter the situation, you will never go to bed angry at someone. You give everyone the benefit of the doubt and you have taught me how to spread kindness to everyone. You never know what someone is going through and even a smile can touch their heart. Thank you for teaching me what it means to genuinely love and care for people.

You have taught me how to work so hard and to never give up. There were numerous times in my childhood where I wanted to quit, but you never let me. You always told me that quitting was not the way to success. I have never seen you quit when the going gets tough. You are a mother of four, two of which have Autism, a cancer survivor, and work a job. The most important thing I have learned from you is that I can do anything I set my mind to, if I work hard for it and never give up.

Lastly, you have taught me how to be someone else’s hero and role model. You have guided my down the path that I hope to guide my own children down someday. You have taught me the strength, kindness, compassion, patience, and determination that I need to be a successful woman, and possibly mother someday. I can only hope to be half of the woman you are. Thank you so much for always being there for me and being my hero. I love you Ma.