There have been many people that I have thought of as heroes in my life. However, my idea of what a hero should be has changed greatly. When I was younger, my biggest hero was Hope Solo, goalkeeper for the U.S. Women's national soccer team. I had played soccer since I was in preschool, and as I got older I decided I wanted to be a goalie. Hope Solo was everything I wanted to be; I idolized her, and I could visualize myself in the Olympics, representing my country, just as she did. In my eyes, she was perfect, just as any hero was. From her raw skill to the way she looked on the field, she was everything I aspired to be. However, as time went on, I grew up, and later realized that my dream of being an Olympic soccer player was unrealistic. I decided that soccer wasn't for me anymore, and I gave it up to switch to something new. I was definitely upset to leave my soccer team, and the friends that had been with me since preschool, but I knew it was the right choice. And so, I left behind not only my team, but also my dream of being a professional soccer player. After giving up soccer, I was able shift my focus to lacrosse, and devote most of my time to that.

Lacrosse was a sport I had always loved since I started it in kindergarten. Since then, I have worked hard and dedicated most of my free time to practicing, and soon, I found a new hero; my lacrosse coach, Katie. She made playing more fun than it ever had been, and helped me get better and strive to achieve my goals. Every practice and game, she was on the sideline cheering me on and encouraging me. Whenever I practiced on my own, all the worries and stresses of the day fell away. My coach helped me realize that practicing lacrosse was an outlet for me whenever I got stressed or just needed a break. I could lose track of time outside alone by myself with just a stick and a ball. Though she is not my coach anymore, I continue to remember her advice every time I play, and try to be the very best I can be in whatever I do. My coach may have just been an ordinary person to everyone else, but to me she was a true hero.

At this point in my life, I began to realize that a person does not need to be famous or well known to be a hero. However, it wasn't until one family dinner that I truly realized that these "everyday heroes" could change lives.

It was just a regular family dinner with my extended family, and my grandpa was telling us all about his life. I learned that my grandpa enlisted into the marines as a teenager, and fought for his country for years. I also learned more about his former career. I had known that my grandpa owned a taxi company in Boston, and drove taxis for a living, but what I didn't know was that he also drove school buses for special needs and autistic children. He told my siblings and me about how just a smile and a simple "hello" could light up these kids' day. He was always kind and patient with them, and that's when I realized that just by taking these kids to school and talking to them about their day, my grandpa could be making a difference in their lives.

It was at this time in my life that I finally understood; all heroes are ordinary, just like the people that idolize them. Though Hope Solo may be famous, she is still just a person, like any other hero, and though Katie may have seemed superhuman to me, she is also just a person. Finally, my grandfather may seem ordinary to anyone who sees him in passing, but I know that he has made an impact both through his time spent in the military and the time he spent with the children that rode his buses. A hero in my mind is simply an ordinary person who does extraordinary things for someone else, without looking for anything in return, and that is exactly what my grandfather is to me.