When asked to make an essay about my hero, it took me a very long time to think about who I wanted to talk about. Trying to think of someone who had the most influence on my life was very difficult, and for a while, I didn't think I even had my own personal hero. But I thought about it and finally I was able to figure out who my hero is. My hero is like many of your heroes; kind, gracious, thoughtful, and caring, but the funny thing about my hero is that I don’t think that we have a ton in common. In fact, it might be possible that I have fought and argued with my hero more than most of your heroes. So why would a person like this be my hero, then? This person is my hero because despite our arguments, we still find a way to love each other and even be great friends. I honestly don’t remember the first time meeting my hero, but I know that the first time she heard of me, she must have been very surprised to learn that she was getting a little brother. My hero is my sister, Amanda.

Early on in our childhood, I would have never had called Amanda my hero. To me, she was just that girl who I had to live with forever, and didn’t hold any heroic status in my mind. We grew up, and this idea of Amanda being my hero couldn't be further from the truth. To me, she was a dramatic, mean, and bossy person who should be avoided at all costs. At that time, we didn't talk a whole lot and it would be safe to say that we weren't really friends at all; in fact we could hardly stand the sight of each other at times. Luckily, we did eventually grow up and as I saw that Amanda was maturing, she gradually became more tolerable to be around. During middle school and even in high school, she began to give me advice and help me with my homework. In fact, after a while if ever I had a problem that I wanted to talk about, I wouldn't ask my parents but now I was starting to ask Amanda instead. She would also come to me with problems and this openness really helped us start to be friends and not just siblings. She always cared about what I was dealing with at a certain time, and she was more relatable than my parents because she could give me the perspective of another kid my age. As time went by, I began to realize how much closer Amanda and I had grown together. I noticed that people would start commenting on how we were always together and I noticed that even though she had plenty of other friends, a lot of times she just wanted to hang out with me. Once she could drive, we would go out for ice cream or something just to pass the time. I began to dread the day that she would graduate and eventually move out. I like to think that she felt the same way because she really seemed to want to spend time with me especially during her senior year. That day, however, came faster than I ever thought possible. In the blink of an eye, she had moved down to Columbus to begin her college education. I’ll admit that being the only kid at home does have some good things going for it; however I don’t see one of my best friends except for the occasional visit, anymore. That caring, joyful, and thoughtful presence isn't here, and now that she’s gone, I realize how awesome she was. It’s only now after all these years that I realized that Amanda really is my hero.

As I hinted at, Amanda has several gifts and characteristics that make her so remarkable. Firstly, she has a very positive personality. I find that she smiles a lot and is always trying to make the best of even the worst situations. She is also very easy to have a conversation with because she is so relatable and really does care about you and what you have to say. As I said before she will also be open with you, and you can really feed off of each other’s input when you have a conversation with her. Finally, one of the greatest things about my sister is that she realizes that she isn't perfect. She makes mistakes all the time but what’s really inspiring to me is that she has the guts to acknowledge her faults and apologize to you if she has done you wrong. To me, it’s these characteristics that I find most heroic about my sister.

So now, my relationship with Amanda is very different from what it once was. This girl, who used to make my life miserable and drive me crazy, has become a mature adult. Of course, we still don’t always agree with everything and sometimes we still argue about different things. However, we are both now mature enough to not let our disagreements descend into childish name calling and throwing insults at each other. Looking back, my sister may not have been the most likely of heroes, but now I understand how much she means to me and how much of who she is has really influenced me to try to be more like her in several ways. I know that I would be a lot worse off if she wasn't a part of my life, and I’m really thankful that my sister is my friend, my teacher, and my hero.