Heroes comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes–but exist in everyone’s lives, whether they be fictional or someone in a person’s everyday life. 

Parents or family members are very commonly seen as a child’s hero. Darrien Garrett, a senior at Elkhart High School, says he has two primary heroes in his life: his grandfather and his dad. “My grandpa is the big name in my family, due to the fact he’s had a Hollywood movie and has been on the news many times.” He explains. “My dad, well my step-dad, was more of the dad who stepped up. He did 8 years in the Army and is like the backbone of the family. He’s really inspiring, and I look up to him–both figuratively and literally.”

Usually, individuals who inspire others push for those people to become better. Garrett mentions how both his dad and his grandfather do just that, each using different methods. “My dad has always pushed me to do my best in everything I do, but my grandpa is someone I look up at like ‘I want to be that cool one day.'” He also mentions how his grandfather is constantly doing things and meeting people, and he notes how he hopes he could live up to him one day.

When watching people who inspire, they often–unknowingly–provide great take-aways from which to learn. Garrett believes that people should be able to learn what kind of person they could be from their heroes. He mentions how he always wants to be the person that’s constantly doing something–just like his grandfather. “He’s very active, definitely not a lazy person. He’s always doing something fun. For example,” Garrett continues, “he was just in Miami and went shark fishing!” Garrett’s dad, however, is able to teach him a different but still very important lesson. “Instead of always doing something, my dad is someone who  stresses ‘If you do something, always do your best.'” Garrett concludes that he’d like to put the two lessons he’s learned from his heroes together to push himself towards his dreams and to always give it his all.

Heroes definitely always have much to teach others, and can even make people’s lives change through their own lessons.