Danielle Hero Essay! [It's actually kinda interesting]

by twilighter3000 10/22/2009, 6:32 pm

There's this contest for all 8th graders in my state to write about their hero, and here's my rough draft of my essay! [my hero has to be from my state] I edited out my hero's name, and here it is:

"H-E-R-O"

Thinking back, I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. It was February, 2007, and I was ready to go on stage as a finalist in the Greater ________ ________ Spelling Bee. I didn’t know it yet, but I had just seen the person responsible for getting me there. Moments earlier, an average height, friendly looking man had walked up to me, lightly touching my shoulder and said “good luck”. With a flash of realization, I recognized him as my second grade teacher, Craig H.. It was too late by then to say thank you, but I whispered it quietly to myself, honored that he had remembered me after almost three years.

It says a lot about someone when they show up to see you after years of separation. How could he possibly remember me? When I saw him last it was my final day of second grade at Hamilton Elementary and I had since moved to another district, 45 minutes away. The Bee was intense, and although I didn’t win, I felt special. Coming off stage, I saw him again. My parents recognized him immediately, having loved his teaching methods and ability to push me to achieve, even then. Flashbacks hit me right then, remembering the “You ARE Special” sign on his classroom wall and him continually saying, “Never say ‘I can’t do it’.” I saw my class crowded around a glass case containing a chrysalis that he said was ready to split open and reveal a beautiful butterfly. I heard him saying to try your best, and you’ll always succeed.

Mr. H. had an obvious passion for teaching children, and it showed. He’d work one on one with someone not only if they were struggling, but when they needed extra challenges too. He recognized my love of spelling and pushed me with harder words because he knew I could do it. I remember that he made learning fun and I’d always come home excited about what I learned in class.

Six years ago Mr. H. was my teacher, and to this day he stands out in my mind as the one who always supported and encouraged me. The morning we were asked to name our Michigan hero, I knew it was Mr. H., no competition. Later that night, I looked him up on ________’s website and saw that he is now principal of my old school, and I wasn’t surprised. He will always do an amazing job helping kids learn. I still have a picture of the two of us from that big night three years ago hanging on my bedroom wall, both of us smiling enough to light up the whole room. I know I’ll see him again some day, and I will let him know how his encouragement of me has paid off. He always told me I could do it, and later showed up specifically to cheer me on at such a big event in my life. A man like that is my true Michigan hero.

Tell me what you think! [Plus, I need a title]