You all know that there is superman, batman, hawkeye, spider-man, ant-man, the hulk, and on and on…
But, right now, I am going to tell you about my favorite human heroes that are real people.
The day Austin and I met we were on the school bus at the age of six, and he thought I said my name was Grey instead of Ben. After he called me Grey for the first couple days, I figured he had some type of hearing problem… No, just a very odd misunderstanding of my name. Through that, we started to become great friends and we grew up together in school: riding bikes, eating lunch, and hanging out together the majority of our childhood.
Davey joined my school and rec-league soccer team at the age of 11, and through his clumsiness and our goofy qualities, we got along very nicely. We went on float trips in the summers together, made mistakes together, played sports together and anything else you could think of.
To this day, I still consider these two guys to be two of my closest friends. Everybody has these types of stories, but when I think of these two men now, I consider it an honor for them to call me their friend. Austin serves in the Marines in Okenoua, Japan; Davey is serving the Army in South Korea. These two both decided after high school that they wanted to serve this country. Thinking back to all the memories of our childhood, I never thought that they would be all the way across the world serving in our military.
I mean, when I think back to Davey, I remember him getting sunburnt so bad he had blisters, and we literally agreed that it was just him leaking random fluid on his scalp. We said that God was probably draining some of the stupid out of his head and he completely went with it.
Once while at my house, Austin wanted to prove his toughness, so he tied a dog leash around his waist, attached it to a tree, and ran from the tree as fast as he could! Surprisingly enough, no injuries other than a nice gash occurred.
Nevertheless, I do remember when Austin told me he was ready to lose weight sophomore year. He weighed 205 pounds at a short height of 5’7”. By the end of senior year, he was in shape and standing strong at the weight of 165 and the same height. He knew he needed to be healthy for the corps. And he did it.
Davey was not too good at soccer, but knew that he could pick something up if he gave it his best effort. He ran and ran with the cross country team till he would be vomiting just to get into the shape to make the team. He got on the team junior year and ran with the front of the pack his final two years of high school and was offered scholarships to colleges, even though he decided to serve the Army.
These are two of the most determined and passionate people I know. Even when I found out they were going to serve, I didn’t know that my view of them would change. To me, they are heroes. Although they are a different type of hero since they are in the military, these two have been my heroes for most of my life. I remember when no one else was there for me, Davey and Austin were. I remember when I just had to break down, be vulnerable to my emotions and cry, these were the two guys I called. I remember when I did not have any sense of belief or confidence in myself, they always reminded me that I could do it.
Austin and Davey are two of my biggest heroes in life by the way they live their lives with joy, determination and passion. They have inspired me to keep on going and never give up on my passion. Their passion is for the military. They are not afraid to leave their comfort zone- their country, family, and friends - in order to do what they are passionate about. I hope we can all have a person to look up to like I look up to Austin and Davey and always remember to not only never give up, but to always be thankful for the impact that hero of your life has left on you.
