A hero is simply someone who rises above his own human weaknesses, for an hour, a day, a year, to do something stirring.

-Betty Deramus

My hero would have to be my middle school volleyball coach and teacher Mr. H (his full name will be kept private). He helped me through the best and worst of times. He was so understanding and helped me to realize what life had to offer me. He is also my hero because of his story of bravery and courage.

When he was a young boy, he lived in South Korea. His mother was a single parent because his dad was an American solider for the army and was deployedback to the U.S. As a half American, half South Korean, his life was brutal. The kids would make fun of him for being a Korean with blonde hair and lighter skin. Even adults would make comments about the way he looked.

Finally, around the age of eight or so, he decided that to make his mother’s live better, that he was going to be put up for adoption. So, with tears in his eyes he left his mother and home behind to live in an orphanage. He was there for almost a year before an American family with children adopted him. They were from the sunny state of California. (I was able to see the videos that the family took when he first to arrived into the country and walked off the plaine)

He lived with this family for a while, and was very happy with them. School was tough, for he didn’t know the English language and, just like back home in Korea, the children would make fun of him for his looks. They called him Chinese and would say, “Ching-chong! Ching-chong!” and pull there eyes back to imitate his Oriental origins. This went of for some time.

Not long after arriving in California, there was a sudden change of plans. His adopted family told him that they were giving him up. They were sending him up to Springfield, Oregon. He didn’t understand, “they don’t want me..?” This makes no sense.

After packing him only belogings, he got in the came adn made the drive up to his new family. This is the family that is his today. They treated him with so much love and kindness that he felt as though he had a real family.

He had a normal live and went to Thurston High School (same as me now), to play soccer and run track. He later went to college and received his college degree for teaching and has been ever since. He is now married and has three beautiful children. Two boys and a girl. And coaches at the middle school.

This man had such an amazing story of bravery and self determination to get through something like that.

I had the privlage of meeting his real mother a few summers ago. He had saved enough money to fly her from Korea to the U.S. That was the first time she’d met her grandchildren. She was a wonderful old woman. I had him translate for me when we talked and I told her what an amazing son she had and how she should be so proud of him. I also told her that I was so thankful to have him as my teacher. This made her eyes fill with tears and she got up to hug me and say thank you. 

To me, heroes aren’t only the ones that are good at sports or that go to war for our country, they are the everyday people that you see on the sidewalk and say ”hi” to. You may not know their story, you may only glance up at hem, but to someone else, they are a hero who has changed their life in some way or shape. So go out today and look at the people aroud you, and don’t just look at them as a strange passing you by, but as a person who has affected someone elses life for hte better. 

This blog was inspired by the blog Bringing us Together