When I pressed speed dial four to reach my grandma Vera, to conduct the interview, I thought I knew all the answers to the questions I had written down. My grandma and I are very close. I can trust her with everything, and I always go to her whenever I have a problem with anything. She is one of my best friend's and I love and respect her so much. When this essay was assigned, I did not even have to ponder who I would write about. My first thought was obviously my grandmother. She is my hero and after doing this interview with her, I'm one hundred and ten percent sure of my choice. My grandmother is my hero because she is wise, she has overcome troubling ordeals, she is modest, and she is very unselfish when it comes to other people.
Vera was born in Vitebsk Belarus on December fifth, 1952. She got married at age twenty and had her first daughter Irina, my mother, at age twenty-one, and my uncle, Vladimir, at age twenty -four. She worked as a quality inspector for war vessels. When my parents were working, she raised me and was a huge part of my upbringing. Around the late nineties, living in Belarus became hard. Many were losing their jobs, and it was hard to support the family. My grandmother had relatives in Indiana. She moved to America with my late grandfather and my uncle ten years ago. My parents and I followed shortly after. She considers it one of her of biggest accomplishments. "Central Indiana is a calm and safe place. It's a great place for children to grow up in, and there is an abundance of nature", is how she describes Indiana, and she is very proud of her choice to move here. It definitely was life changing.
I think one of the heroic traits that my grandma has would have to be her wisdom and the ordeals she has overcome. My grandma is very wise because she gives me the best advice and she's had a lot of experiences that she has learned from. She is always trying to teach me new things and I'm grateful to absorb it and use it to my advantage. I think Odysseus was very wise, as well. He was wise in battle and on his adventurous journey home. Another important trait would have to be that both my grandmother and Odysseus have overcome difficulties. My grandmother has overcome a number of obstacles throughout her life, one of them being breast cancer. She was diagnosed one and half years ago and I remember that being a stressful time in my family's life. I really admire her for the way she handled this struggle. When I asked her how she won her fight against this frightening disease, she answered "I kept telling myself that everything will be okay. I tried to stay optimistic." Today, she is breast cancer free. I look up to her for that because she inspires me to always be positive and never give up. Odysseus also had his share of overcoming conflicts and challenges. He was in the Trojan War, and he won. He went away from home for twenty years and he managed to still remain the man he left, if not better. He also had to battle the Cyclops, get through Scylla and Charybdis, and much more. I think that wisdom and courage to battle hardships are very admirable traits have.
I believe that a true hero must be modest and humble. My grandma is a huge example of that. When I told her about this assignment she said "Me? A hero? Why in the world am I your hero? I'm nothing special; you should do someone like you great grandma or your mom, but not me." For some reason I wasn't surprised; she always downplays her kindness. She never takes credit for anything she does. Odysseus also is modest because he doesn't brag and proclaim himself as a grand hero when he chooses to discuss his adventures with others. If he ever discusses his incredible journey, he does it in a humble and conservative way.
Another quality that my grandmother posses would have to be putting others before herself. She does everything in her power to please everyone…especially her family. When I asked her hero was she answered, "My children and grandchildren. They are my whole life. I live for them." I believe this quote pretty much sums up why I picked her to be my hero and it represents her very well. I believe my grandma is a very generous person who loves to take care of everyone besides herself, which can sometimes be a bad thing, yet every hero has a flaw. This flaw just happens to be one that can be super positive. In comparison, Odysseus also puts others needs before his on a number of accounts. I believe going to war in the first place was showing his passion of serving others and his unselfishness. I think another example would be when he is disguised and he has to deal with his loved ones. He doesn't reveal himself even those he wants because he wants to respect Athena and her plans.
I couldn't think of any comparisons between Odysseus, a Greek war hero, and my grandmother, an immigrant from Belarus., when I started this essay. The more I wrote and collected information about my grandmother; I had so many comparisons flowing through my mind. My grandmother says she admires honest, loyal, hardworking, and kind people, I believe Odysseus also seems to admire people of those qualities. . His family and well- trusted servants also remained very loyal to him and they were all hard working. My grandma dislikes when people are but she dislikes greedy, envious, non-grateful, lazy, or angry. He despised the suitors and they happened to be the perfect example of greedy, lazy, and non-grateful people Another comparison they haveis the ardor of traveling. I asked my grandmother what she would do if just won the lottery and received a million dollars. She answered, "Besides sharing it with my family and donating it to charity, I would want to travel the world." In correlation, Odysseus seems to be well traveled and I personally believe he likes to explore the world. I think both he and my grandmother crave to see what the world has to offer and they both share a zeal for life.
I looked up the definition of a hero. It said a hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength. . Odysseus was definitely a hero, a strong, courageous leader. My grandma might not have won a war or battled a Cyclopes, but she has changed my life and made me become who I am today. She is my hero because she is one of the wisest, most modest, courageous (when it comes to life’s challenges) and unselfish person I have ever met. “She is everything I wish I was, and I hope that someday I also can be as patient and loving as she is to everyone around her,” her daughter, (my mother) commented about my grandmother. My grandma has taught me to be optimistic, never give up, and to always concentrate on the essential matters in life. My grandmother is like a mother and best friend to me, always providing fun and compassion for me. When I pressed speed dial four, I thought I knew all the answers, but it turns out, my grandmother was more of a hero then I expected.