Wanted: Gotta be strong, fast and fresh from fight

4t and 4teen both love the movies X-Men, Batman, Spiderman, Fantastic Four and watch them together no matter what.

Yesterday, when I went to get my first cup of coffee at work, my colleague hugged me and told me that I was her hero! She told the rest of the “girls” that on the day before, Mr. Boredom (who has earned his nickname with honors) was chitchatting with her for the longest time and she did not know how to get rid of him. Then I approached them and asked her a work related question, and asked her to do something, and she was freed from him. Everybody cheered and hailed to the hero. Me!!

Well, I was happy, amused, flattered and in a way very confused. To me, a hero is a person who does some extraordinary task and possesses a whole lot of courage: The soldiers who fight for their countries to keep it safe are heroes, people who battle terminal disease or impossible situations are heroes, and fire fighters are heroes. To me a hero is a person who tries to change the world for better and tries to make a difference by any means possible to him, either monetary, time or personal sacrifice. A hero never brags, tells or gloats to friends and in the news. I am not among any of the above category, I was just annoyed that this girl talks her way through the day and that I am stuck to do her job so that I can get mine done. All I wanted was for her to come back to do her job so that I finish mine.

Then a friend pointed out to me that heroism is different in every individual’s perspective. To chase and catch a naughty cat for an old lady, may seem some fun act to me, but will be an act of heroism to that woman. When 4teen was younger, he considered me a hero, and 4t was just doing what she was supposed to do, being a parent. And as life changes, situations alter, therefore, the perspective adjusts and heroism takes a different sense at every phase.

And this gets me thinking (4teen believes that this is the root of my problems, too much thinking!) Batman and Spiderman were normal people, like all of us, who used their extraordinary powers, when they changed into their costumes, in the time of distress and need. So is it possible that all of us normal people are heroes in our own way and can perform acts of heroism? Granted we can’t fly, or we do not have super gadgets, but we do have courage and some capability to make a difference and be special to someone, can’t we?

The way I see it now, the actions make a hero not the person. To a hungry person, someone who feeds him is a hero. To a sick person, the doctor is a hero. To a desperate person, and encouraging stranger who can give sound advice can be a hero. A mentor is a hero and there is no end to the chain. And to this colleague, I was the hero.

I still have difficulty absorbing the fact that I was called a hero, because it is truly over-rated, but I do know that I after this, I can not stop being one, and I have to build on to perfection one step at a time. Now that I know that every action of mine, even out of annoyance, has a reaction, I know that I have the power to be a hero, and I promise to be one. My vanity wants me to choose a costume, but when I look at myself in the mirror, my better judgment tells me otherwise!

The title is taken from the lyrics of the song "I need a hero".