heroes
Instead of writing about me, I am going to post the essay that I did for my english class. I am so happy because my Filipino teacher who was teaching english (hehe) told me that I have matured into a writer that what I wrote was in the range of A to A+. She actually praised me in class about my write up which made me blush... oh well here goes.... hope you guys like it.
Rene Tanjuakio
The Greatest Heroes of My Life
Can you imagine a world without heroes? In the shallow world that we now live in, wherein almost all people of all ages idolize pop stars and athletes, do you ever wonder why people stop recognizing the people who are responsible for giving them food for the soul or just the plain simple joys of life? I believe that, in my life, heroes are those people who give meaning and direction to my life. Sometimes, we take for granted the people who we see almost every day. In my opinion, those people we do not take notice of are the greatest heroes of our lives. They don’t only serve as guides, but they serve to inspire me as well.
My first example of a true, modern day hero is my grandfather in the Philippines. His name is Victor Hugo Gutierrez, and I call him Lolo Jugs. I consider Lolo Jugs one of the most influential people in my life for the reason that he never fails to motivate me when it comes to life and especially in sports. “Laziness is the holiday of fools” is what he says always when he sees me lying around lazily in bed watching television inside the room. He teaches me the value of work. In order to get what I want, I have to work hard for it. He emphasizes the need to start my way from the bottom to develop humility and respect. I really think that he is a personal hero of mine because he was my model and my guide in the battles I used to face back when I was still in the Philippines. I never knew before that the wise words that I used to laugh at were the words that I used in one of the darkest moments of my life. It was a time when my life was cloaked with so many failures and that I did not know what to do. His wise words made me pick up the pieces of my life and get it back on track again.
I admire Lolo Jug’s way of getting involved and teaching me the greatest lessons in life. I remember the time when I was still living in the Philippines; he would always urge me to be active in sports. He would ask me if I wanted to go to the driving range with him and practice our swings. I never really knew how important those moments were until I immigrated to this country six months ago. In the short time that I was with him, I never realized that it was our only quality time together. He taught the greatest lesson of all, which is to live a simple and humble life. He educated me that even if I became successful, I must learn how to keep a low profile always. I also learned from him that I should make money and not let money make me. He made sure that I understood that money is not everything, and it should not change and dictate the way that I am. I know the things I learned from him will stay in my heart always even if he passes away. However, I don’t want him to leave this world without knowing that he has my supreme admiration and he has my undying respect for making a difference in my life. I never really put much thought into how he has become my hero until I started working on this essay. I know he is thousands of miles away now, but his presence is always with me. I hear his voice constantly pushing me to develop my potential and work hard on my goals. Even though he is now seventy six years old, he has this way of reaching out to me and changing my life in simple ways I could never have imagined, which for me is one of the best reasons why I consider him as one of the heroes in my life.
In addition to my Lolo Jugs, I consider my grandmother as a true modern day hero too. Her name is Amada Ocampo Gutierrez, and I call her Lola Madge. She is the embodiment of what a spiritual human being is all about. Lola Madge is heroic for me because she always tells me about God and about His other plans for me. That is why she reminds me not to stop fighting for what I want and what I believe in. She never fails to give me hope in times of trials and struggles. She is so religious that, when I see her, I have a hard time distinguishing her from being my grandmother to being my guardian angel. I admire her because she has taught me the value of prayer and the importance of developing my spiritual life. She lives a saintly life wherein she influences me so much that I wanted to follow her footsteps ever since I was still a kid. When I was growing up in the Philippines, my fondest memory of Lola Madge was every time she had a birthday party. She would always go out of her way to invite the needy. She would always ask the deaf and mute students at her school to celebrate her birthday with her. It really struck me every time I saw how happy and fulfilled she looked when her birthday came. I realized that I also wanted to feel that way. Therefore, last year for my 20th birthday, I worked hard to have a birthday party inside a children’s cancer institution, and, for that reason, I had one of the most gratifying moments of my life. She has been a really symbolic figure that I look up to when it comes to acts of benevolence and generosity.
Lola Madge is not only a religious and generous woman; furthermore, she is also a survivor who has passed many trials. I could recall all the times she told me about the experiences she had raising her eight kids, including my mom. She narrates inspiring stories about how she dealt with problems. One of her stories that I fondly remember when their house caught on fire and a lot of their neighbors were crowding around their house. Lola Madge thought her neighbors were helping them take the possessions out of the house, but little did she know that they were looting and stealing the items they worked hard for all their life. She was angry and frustrated about what happened, but she just put her faith in God, and miracles seemed to pop out of nowhere. I really believe that the struggles she has been through developed her strong, principle-centered character, which can be compared to all the heroines the world has ever recognized. However, in the history of my life, I consider her as one of the greatest women who has ever lived.
I know I will be successful someday, and I am sure I will never forget the values and the ideals Lolo Jugs and Lola Madge have instilled in me. They are so valuable in my life that I will not think twice of recognizing them as the greatest heroes of my life. They have given me strength within myself and taught me so much about life in such a short span of time. Now that we are far away from each other, I know the lessons, motivation, and memories they shared me with, will always and forever be a part of me.
I firmly believe that a true modern day hero does not necessarily mean making a game winning shot in a basketball game, as well as a hero can not be defined because of a powerful singing voice or a beautiful face in television. A hero for me, on the other hand, can be the person I saw this morning eating breakfast with me, the person who whispered an inspiring quote to me a while ago, or better yet, the last person who made me smile and made my day. We just have to continually reexamine, open our eyes, and recognize the people who are with us everyday because if we don’t tell them now, it might be too late. My Lolo Jugs and Lola Madge have somehow handed me the tools to guide me and I alone must grab them with both hands and utilize them to climb my own mountain. I know it is still a long way to the top; in spite of this, they both have given me more than they could have given me in more than a lifetime. These qualities should be what we ought to look for in defining what a hero should be, and I am proud of having them in my life.
Rene Tanjuakio
The Greatest Heroes of My Life
Can you imagine a world without heroes? In the shallow world that we now live in, wherein almost all people of all ages idolize pop stars and athletes, do you ever wonder why people stop recognizing the people who are responsible for giving them food for the soul or just the plain simple joys of life? I believe that, in my life, heroes are those people who give meaning and direction to my life. Sometimes, we take for granted the people who we see almost every day. In my opinion, those people we do not take notice of are the greatest heroes of our lives. They don’t only serve as guides, but they serve to inspire me as well.
My first example of a true, modern day hero is my grandfather in the Philippines. His name is Victor Hugo Gutierrez, and I call him Lolo Jugs. I consider Lolo Jugs one of the most influential people in my life for the reason that he never fails to motivate me when it comes to life and especially in sports. “Laziness is the holiday of fools” is what he says always when he sees me lying around lazily in bed watching television inside the room. He teaches me the value of work. In order to get what I want, I have to work hard for it. He emphasizes the need to start my way from the bottom to develop humility and respect. I really think that he is a personal hero of mine because he was my model and my guide in the battles I used to face back when I was still in the Philippines. I never knew before that the wise words that I used to laugh at were the words that I used in one of the darkest moments of my life. It was a time when my life was cloaked with so many failures and that I did not know what to do. His wise words made me pick up the pieces of my life and get it back on track again.
I admire Lolo Jug’s way of getting involved and teaching me the greatest lessons in life. I remember the time when I was still living in the Philippines; he would always urge me to be active in sports. He would ask me if I wanted to go to the driving range with him and practice our swings. I never really knew how important those moments were until I immigrated to this country six months ago. In the short time that I was with him, I never realized that it was our only quality time together. He taught the greatest lesson of all, which is to live a simple and humble life. He educated me that even if I became successful, I must learn how to keep a low profile always. I also learned from him that I should make money and not let money make me. He made sure that I understood that money is not everything, and it should not change and dictate the way that I am. I know the things I learned from him will stay in my heart always even if he passes away. However, I don’t want him to leave this world without knowing that he has my supreme admiration and he has my undying respect for making a difference in my life. I never really put much thought into how he has become my hero until I started working on this essay. I know he is thousands of miles away now, but his presence is always with me. I hear his voice constantly pushing me to develop my potential and work hard on my goals. Even though he is now seventy six years old, he has this way of reaching out to me and changing my life in simple ways I could never have imagined, which for me is one of the best reasons why I consider him as one of the heroes in my life.
In addition to my Lolo Jugs, I consider my grandmother as a true modern day hero too. Her name is Amada Ocampo Gutierrez, and I call her Lola Madge. She is the embodiment of what a spiritual human being is all about. Lola Madge is heroic for me because she always tells me about God and about His other plans for me. That is why she reminds me not to stop fighting for what I want and what I believe in. She never fails to give me hope in times of trials and struggles. She is so religious that, when I see her, I have a hard time distinguishing her from being my grandmother to being my guardian angel. I admire her because she has taught me the value of prayer and the importance of developing my spiritual life. She lives a saintly life wherein she influences me so much that I wanted to follow her footsteps ever since I was still a kid. When I was growing up in the Philippines, my fondest memory of Lola Madge was every time she had a birthday party. She would always go out of her way to invite the needy. She would always ask the deaf and mute students at her school to celebrate her birthday with her. It really struck me every time I saw how happy and fulfilled she looked when her birthday came. I realized that I also wanted to feel that way. Therefore, last year for my 20th birthday, I worked hard to have a birthday party inside a children’s cancer institution, and, for that reason, I had one of the most gratifying moments of my life. She has been a really symbolic figure that I look up to when it comes to acts of benevolence and generosity.
Lola Madge is not only a religious and generous woman; furthermore, she is also a survivor who has passed many trials. I could recall all the times she told me about the experiences she had raising her eight kids, including my mom. She narrates inspiring stories about how she dealt with problems. One of her stories that I fondly remember when their house caught on fire and a lot of their neighbors were crowding around their house. Lola Madge thought her neighbors were helping them take the possessions out of the house, but little did she know that they were looting and stealing the items they worked hard for all their life. She was angry and frustrated about what happened, but she just put her faith in God, and miracles seemed to pop out of nowhere. I really believe that the struggles she has been through developed her strong, principle-centered character, which can be compared to all the heroines the world has ever recognized. However, in the history of my life, I consider her as one of the greatest women who has ever lived.
I know I will be successful someday, and I am sure I will never forget the values and the ideals Lolo Jugs and Lola Madge have instilled in me. They are so valuable in my life that I will not think twice of recognizing them as the greatest heroes of my life. They have given me strength within myself and taught me so much about life in such a short span of time. Now that we are far away from each other, I know the lessons, motivation, and memories they shared me with, will always and forever be a part of me.
I firmly believe that a true modern day hero does not necessarily mean making a game winning shot in a basketball game, as well as a hero can not be defined because of a powerful singing voice or a beautiful face in television. A hero for me, on the other hand, can be the person I saw this morning eating breakfast with me, the person who whispered an inspiring quote to me a while ago, or better yet, the last person who made me smile and made my day. We just have to continually reexamine, open our eyes, and recognize the people who are with us everyday because if we don’t tell them now, it might be too late. My Lolo Jugs and Lola Madge have somehow handed me the tools to guide me and I alone must grab them with both hands and utilize them to climb my own mountain. I know it is still a long way to the top; in spite of this, they both have given me more than they could have given me in more than a lifetime. These qualities should be what we ought to look for in defining what a hero should be, and I am proud of having them in my life.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home