I wrote this a few weeks ago, and realized that it belonged here:

 

 

My heroes are unrecognizable.

 

If you saw them walking down the street,

You’d assume they were just like everybody else.

You wouldn’t see what they’ve done for me,

How they saved me,

Given me back my voice

When I didn’t even know I’d lost it. 

 

You wouldn’t see the time they put into my problems;

You wouldn’t see how much they cared

Even though their problems were far worse,

Humiliating,

Exhausting.

 

You’d be deaf to their stories,

Blind to their problems. 

 

You wouldn’t know who they are at all.

 

You’d walk by

And ignore them effortlessly. 

 

You wouldn’t even notice they were there. 

 

My heroes are all around you. 

People who have given it all

And managed to get more back,

People who have risked everything

To follow their dreams,

People who fall in love every day of their lives

Because how can you know happiness

If you’ve never known sadness?

 

They put themselves out there

And test their reaction skills,

Test their voices against the wind,

Dare their hearts not to shatter.

 

These are people who have fallen from grace a few times,

But never given up,

Gotten back up every time,

Gone back when there was no hope. 

My heroes are people who share their stories of suffering,

Don’t hide from the past

But learn from it and help others do the same.

 

My heroes rush the stages

Because they know they have what it takes.

My heroes trip up the stairs sometimes

Because they were busy finding the right word too late in the conversation.

My heroes fall asleep on the floor

So someone else can be comfortable.

 

My heroes sing at the top of their lungs

Because they have nothing better to do,

Because they are following their passions.

My heroes dance instead of fight,

Because they know that fighting

Can only lead to disaster,

And dancing can lead to hilarity. 

 

My heroes fake broken hearts and mended hearts everyday

Because the act itself

Makes them brave.

My heroes would stop for a stranger on a street corner

To make them see their own beauty,

To give them hope when there is none.

 

My heroes see the beauty in everything.

 

My heroes make me see the beauty in everything. 

 

And so every time I walk down the street

I see people and wonder what their stories are,

What they’ve overcome,

What has made them become what they are

And how they remind themselves of who they are.

 

We’re all flawed, it’s no secret.

 

But the best lesson I’ve learned is that you don’t have to be perfect

To be somebody’s hero.