An African American ballerina embodied the qualities of a true hero and took her beliefs and past experiences from racial prejudice in ballet and transformed them into a source of knowledge for future ballerinas of color. Michaela Deprince's 'Freedom' performance. A deserving hero is one that can make a powerful impact on the life of another by fearlessly standing up for what they believe despite the opinions of others to make their dreams a reality. The individual should have the ability to come up with an innovative way to better the society with or without the need of physical strength or a powerful position in society. Ordinary people become heroes because they take time out of their life to better another’s.

If that means doing a small act of kindness, such as helping someone carry their groceries to the car, or something large like fighting for equality, everything makes a difference. Personally, in addition to these attributes, a worthy hero needs to have the motive to make a difference in the world. This brings up the questions: What is a deserving hero? What actions make up a hero? Is it saving lives? Is it running into a burning house to save a stranded pet? Is it speaking out? Or is it conquering one’s obstacles and following their hearts to better the lives of others? True heroes possess determination to overcome hardships and the courage to share their stories and empower others. Svitak explains the qualities of a superhero but leaves out those of a modern day hero. She expresses that heroes embody the qualities that the society strives to possess. In her article “What’s so Super About Superheroes? This Teen Speaker Explains,” Adora Svitak describes the characteristics of a hero as courageous, resilient, and inspiring. so superheroes end up teaching people about resilience, courage - and the need to fix things in the world” (Svitak). And superheroes also teach us that we all struggle. Michaela DePrince “Superheroes frame the world as a place where there are injustices to be corrected and problems to be solved.

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