When you hear the word “hero” you may think of many different people. You might think of a teacher or a coach. You may also think of a sports figure. You also might think of a singer. Or maybe you think of a fire fighter or police officer. You may also think of a parent or a friend. My hero is my grandma, and I think this for many reasons.

One reason is that my grandma lived in the country of Turkey. She was born there and she lived there until she married my grandpa when she was twenty-five. When she was young, her family had to change their name in fear of Hitler because they had a Jewish name. After the war they changed their name back. Odysseus did something similar to this when he told Polyphemus, the Cyclops, that his name was Nohbdy. Odysseus thought of doing this because he is smart and knowledgeable.

Another reason why my grandma is my hero is because she is very knowledgeable. She, and her whole family including her brothers and sisters, are fluent in four different languages. They are Turkish, Spanish, English, and French. She has gained her knowledge over many years and many different countries. She has lived in five different countries including the United States, Greece, Turkey, Pakistan, and the Philippines. She has also visited many more including China, the Eastern European countries, and Russia. This is like Odysseus’s journey because both of them involve different countries and far away lands.

The next reason why my grandma is my hero is because she is outgoing, friendly, and kind to everyone. On the other hand she is not afraid to go to great lengths to get what she wants. An example of this is when she was traveling in the Philippines; she was walking down the street when she saw a head hunter. He was sitting on the side of the road sharpening his huge machete. She later told me that she just wanted a souvenir, so she asked the head hunter how much he wanted for it. He said a price. My grandma thought it was too high so she started to bargain with the head hunter for his knife. Eventually she got to the price she wanted because it now sits on the top shelf of her closet. I ran across it when I was getting her suitcases down for one of her many trips back to Turkey.

As you can see my grandma is not too different from Odysseus. They have both faced danger and changed their names to stay safe. They have both also visited many different countries and been to far away places. This is why my grandma is my hero. She is also very spiritual. She follows many of her statements with, “God willing”. She is knowledgeable and loving. She is also adventurous and courageous. My grandma and Odysseus are a lot more similar than you may have thought.