Tristan Seger's Life After 9/11: What Makes A Hero?

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” (Joseph Campbell). Heroes dedicate their lives to contribute to the general welfare of society. Most of the time, the obstacle seems to big for them to handle, but they overcome it in the end. A hero can be anyone in the world. A neighbor, a child, a firefighter, or a politician. Heroes are determined, they never do anything for personal gain, and they always fight for good. Heroes stand up for what is right, and see everything through to the end. For example, during 9/11 when the Twin Towers began to collapse, and many people were stranded on the island, ordinary people decided to help strangers to safety. Like a hero, they responded to those in need and did the right thing of not leaving those people to die. Also, during 9/11 Welles Crowther put his life before others. Instead of exiting the tower after bringing down one group of survivors, he turned back to look for more survivors. He saw that as many people got out of the building before the

Tristan Segers lost his leg in war when his car was destroyed by a bomb. Even though it looked as though he may not have been able to recover, he worked tirelessly to improve. “The rehabilitation was rigorous and I pushed it, building back my muscles and learning to use the prosthetic leg.”(Tristan Segers). He was determined and worked hard in rehabilitation. He was determined to lead a normal life even if it meant wearing a prosthetic leg. Also, Fredrick Douglass, an escaped slave, went beyond what was expected of someone who was being chased. He stood up and talked even though “...the idea of speaking to white people weighed me down.”(Fredrick Douglass). He attended anti slavery meetings, gave speeches, and made himself famous. He did his best to help his brethren who were still stuck working as a slave, even though there was a risk of getting caught and punished