John Bender: Superhero
John Bender was born on August 1, 1989. He was a fat baby. My mom says he was notorious for his giggles. He was a quiet “terrible two” and became a toddler. John started showing his gift, knowledge, as early as third grade when he got 100% on every test. His tween years are when John began to really shine. John found his calling, writing, which he pursues today at Iowa University. He found his love for music and the guitar. But what I feel made Tween-John his first shine, was his becoming of a older brother and a big bro. John was blessed with two siblings at a young age, one of them was me, how fortunate for him. John’s life changed from then on. From my eyes, I witnessed the creation of my hero as he took on life struggles and taught me lessons I keep today like to never play with the fireplace or see if I can jump down a flight of stairs. Yep, John is pretty awesome.

Let us rewind to John’s childhood. John Anthony was a cute chubbers who loved to bounce. He learned to take physical blows starting at a young age. He found himself hitting walls and getting into mischief. What unfortunately matured john quite a bit was an operation preformed on his intestine. Reluctantly, John said, “My earliest and worst memory is of the operation room.” John grew up with some what of chip on his shoulder having handled two younger siblings and his parents divorce. He managed at a young age to tackle obstacle after obstacle. John and Odysseus connect here. They both are skilled at breaking down large obstacles and overcome them.

Ah, Tween-John, my favorite. From my memory, Tween-John was super thin and lanky. He sported a 5’8-ish height at 7th grade. At this age, John was his siblings’ leader. He chose who was right. He chose what we did. John found it very easy to lead us in tough situations. This is where he is also like Odysseus. Odysseus was a powerful war leader and ship leader. John was very cool popular and very funny. At the time, there was no one I admired more.

When John Anthony hit high school, he was hit with a dilemma: he was out of his element. He was the new kid, mysterious and unknown. Not until recently was he able to open about his struggles experienced at high school that I use as guidance in my life. John met situations facing drugs, confrontation, and social awkwardness. He was able to make it through. Over his high school career, John grew into a man. He built strong toned muscles from football, facial hair that made his younger brother jealous, and a personality to die for. Needless to say, he was one cool cat. John experienced more psychological and physical trauma as a high school student. He was forced to try the new trends even though he typically was easily swayed. Was impressed me was his ability to take the physical torture of football. He made every workout, every practice, every meeting, and more importantly every game. John wasn’t much of an athlete, but he kept striving and by his junior year, he started varsity on defense. At the end of high school, John was a 6’3, a 190 bearded monster, a force to be reckoned with.

That leads us to the present time. John Anthony is attending Iowa University were he is majoring in Creative Writing. John has his own talk show that he hosts every Friday night. John is the greatest example. I am truly honored to be following in his footsteps. It used to bother me when my elementary teachers accidentally called me John, but now I have realized it’s more of a complement than anything.