When you think of a hero you might think of a buff dude wearing spandex and a cape, but this is not what I think of when I hear the word hero. I think of average people who do extraordinary things. A hero could be anyone. They could range from your “average Joe”, to a fireman. A hero could save people from themselves, or they could save people from fiery buildings. It does not matter how much money you make, or if you have super powers. A hero is a hero. That is where my hero comes in. I have known my hero for my whole life, and he has known me for even longer, about nine months to be exact. He raised me, fed me, clothed me, and made me who I am today. My hero is my dad, and he is my favorite person on the earth. I love my hero for his courage, his goofiness, and even his flaws.

My dad has been through a lot in the last couple of years. Six years ago my dad and my mom went through a violent divorce. It was not all my dad’s fault. He loved us kids. He also loved my mom, but push came to shove and they split up. “I tried,” were definitely his favorite two words while going through the divorce. My dad relates to Odysseus in the way that Odysseus always perseveres. My dad just kept trying to make things work, but things just didn’t happen. He moved out when I was in third grade. My dad moved to his friend’s house that was also divorced. We got to see him pretty much whenever, but things were still tough. He and my mom were getting into a lot of fights, and we were beginning to see him less and less. Eventually things came out to be that we could only see him Wednesdays and every other weekend. Things were really tough then, but we still made things work. We knew he loved us, but their marriage just was not working. I remember one time at midnight when he went and bought me McDonald’s just because I called and asked him. This is one of the reasons why my dad is my hero.

Another reason that my dad is my hero is because he’s always willing to have fun. I just realized this in the past couple of years too. When I was younger, my dad was constantly working, and he barely had enough time for us. When we got older we started having fun though. Recently I bought a go-kart with the money that I earned with him. My mom completely hated this idea, especially after I had flipped it. Even with my mom’s disapproval, we still enjoy that go-kart, and my dad always buys the repairs.
My dad is also one of the most redneck people you will ever meet. This is another way I think my dad relates to Odysseus. The book said that Odysseus loved to hunt, and my dad does too. In the winter of first grade my dad went to Alaska for a month to shoot a moose. After a month he came back with a giant caribou, and one of the scariest moose heads you have ever seen. He put that moose head right by our pool table in the basement, and if you were tired and walking upstairs at night that thing would scare you so bad. I hope I can go hunting when I get older. He also went to Canada for a month the next year. When he was in Canada he caught a ten pound bass and framed it on the wall with a piece of wood. “When I was a kid I had a knife that I skinned over ten deer, four rabbits, and three birds with.” If my dad is not a redneck I do not know who is. I am a redneck, and I hope to be like my dad when I grow up.

When I was in fourth grade my hero did one of the dumbest things in his life. He was angry at my mom, for something I should not say, and rammed his truck into her van. I know it sounds bad, but I honestly do not think about it a lot. It was a mistake and the penal system made him pay, but today he is different. He does not let things get to him, and that is another reason I envy him. He told me that, “I should not have done that, but in some ways I am kind of glad.” It sounds horrible, but my mom made him go through so much. She caused him so much misery. He overcame it, and that is one of the biggest reasons that he is my hero.

My dad has been through a lot and several times expressed his flaws. My dad has also expressed his kindness, caring, loving, and devotion throughout the years too. I love my dad, and I know he loves me. My dad may be an ordinary guy, but in my eyes he is a hero. He loves his whole family, especially his kids. My dad has been through a lot through the years. The divorce is definitely the thing that got him so low that I was afraid he would not come back up. He did though, and that is another reason he is my hero. He is my hero for his courage, goofiness, and his flaws, and he will always be my hero.