To me, a hero is someone who has overcome a certain obstacle or challenge in his or her life. It could also be someone who has worked very hard toward a goal or someone who is extremely talented at what they do. My hero is someone close to me. He battled lymphoma, a type of cancer. He struggled for one year; nevertheless, he managed to defeat a serious illness and move on with his life. I greatly respect him for this. My hero is my father because he doesn’t let tragedies stop him from living his life, he is brave, and he puts his family first.

My dad had a difficult childhood. He grew up with two younger brothers and his parents. When he was fifteen, his mother died of a heart attack. This was very sudden for the whole family because they were close. He was devastated at this loss, but he knew he had to look after his brothers. That act shows his maturity at a young age. It also shows how he can move on from any kind of misfortune in order to protect those that he loves.

Many years later, my dad felt a “painful swelling of the male area.” I was in the first grade at this time. He went into the doctor to have it checked out. It turned out to be cancer. When he heard the news about his illness, my dad was shocked. “I felt light-headed and could not work. I had to be taken home by a friend,” he told me. He started treatment soon after because he wanted to rid his body of this disease. This treatment caused him to lose his hair. My dad continued to come to all of my brother’s baseball games to support him, even though he was feeling miserable and nauseous all the time. He wanted my brother and I to still have normal lives. That was a very selfless thing to do. One of the most important things to my father is making sure that my brother and I are safe and happy. “My goal is to get both of my children through a happy childhood and off to a nice start in college, then on to a happy life,” he explained. This displays how my father always puts his family first. As long as we are content, he is content.

Odysseus, the epic hero, and my father have a lot in common. They are both very brave. While my father courageously fought lymphoma, Odysseus fought off terrifying sea monsters. Both my dad and Odysseus loved their families. Odysseus spent long years trying to get home to them. Thoughts of Penelope and Telemachus, his wife and son, never left his mind. My dad struggled with cancer and received painful treatment so that he could always be there for his family. Once Odysseus finally got home to Penelope and Telemachus, he was a very supportive father. I think that my father is a great role model for me as well.
My father’s battle with cancer ended one year after it was first diagnosed. “I prayed a lot. It brought me peace,” he said. Maybe all that praying had paid off. I asked my father if this battle with cancer had changed him as a person. His response was, “It has changed me quite a bit. I try not to let the little things bother me. Money and material things are nice, but the loss of them would not mean that I could not be happy.” I think that my father has become a stronger and more appreciative person because of this experience. He was truly brave the entire time that he was fighting this illness. He didn’t let it get the best of him. He still was always there for my mother, my brother, and I. He has had many hardships in his life, but he is still happy and makes the best out of what he has. Those are qualities that only a real hero, such as my father, has.