Most people have a hero, who they call a superhero. That extra super in the beginning implies that this person has a lot of money, is famous, or has an amazing accomplishment. This would be a stereotype of a celebrity or a professional athlete. If this were all a hero really was, most of the world would be heading in the wrong direction. Celebrities get full of them selves and try to do more than they are capable of. That influences children to follow in their footsteps and make the same bad decisions. My hero is an everyday person, one that you would not ordinarily think of as a hero. Ben Adams is my hero. I met him, years ago, when I became friends with his younger sister. Rachel, his sister, is still one of my best friends. I chose Ben as my hero because he is a very honorable person, with a loving personality, great ambitions, and enough intelligence and respect to know what is really important in his life. He is also someone that I can talk to and look up to for advice.

Without anything that he has gone through, and all the struggles he has faced, Ben could have never been the man that he is today. Benjamin Wallace Adams was born on August 14th, 1987, making him currently twenty-one years old. He grew up here Westfield, just like his parents, Mark and Angie. Ben also has three younger siblings, Hannah, a senior, Rachel, a freshman, and Elijah, five. Hannah and Rachel attend Westfield High School, and Eli goes to kindergarten at Maple Glen. Ben graduated from Westfield and then went to college at Indiana Wesleyan University. But after one and a half years of living on campus, he decided that college was not his thing. Ben chose to withdraw from college and take EMT classes. He is now about to finish the course and be on his way to becoming a firefighter. Becoming a firefighter is something that most people cannot say was ever an option for them. That is because it takes a great deal of courage and responsibility, but an equal amount of insanity, to run into a burning building. Risking your own life is not something that an everyday man or woman would do. To me, this is a definitely a superhero quality.

During his life, Ben has had to overcome many different struggles. When he was eleven, he was forced to choose between participating in sports and still doing well in school, or quitting his team and following his friends. Wrestling had been all he was interested in for all of his life. And now he was forced to make the decision. Unfortunately, he chose his friends. They led him down the wrong path. He started to get involved in alcohol, but not at a dangerous level. He still knew his boundaries. Luckily, his path did a complete 180 when he started to pay attention in church. He realized God would protect him, no matter what happened. After that day, Ben started wrestling again, and started making more responsible friends. After going through such a life changing experience, he thought he had finally changed his life for the better.

Just as Odysseus’s attitude changed as he was forced to stay away from his loving wife and son for twenty years, Ben’s whole outlook on life changed when he decided to withdraw from college and become an EMT. Through the whole process, his family supported him. They always gave advice and told him what they thought he should do next when he got stuck. Without their hearts, as generous and loving as a mama bear to her cubs, Ben could have never made this far in his dream career. His father even cared enough to help him pay his way through the class so that Ben could follow his dream.

Ben’s friends have also made a huge impact on his life. After getting through the rough patch, he found good, trustworthy and respectful friends that would never try to hurt him or try to demolish his dream. “Without my friends, family, and the power of God, I don’t know where I would be today. They are the only reason why I have made it this far,” Ben said. His friends and family were the ones that finally convinced him to start coming to church. “I could tell that no one liked the direction my life was headed, and neither did I, but I didn’t know how to stop it. It felt like there was nothing I could do. I was helpless until I heard the word of our Lord,” he explained. After a while, he started to enjoy the new friends that he was making, and found a way to force himself to change. And it was a good thing he did. No one knows what would have happened if he had not changed his path.

A hero is not always a person who is always trying to be heroic. They need some time to relax. One of my favorite things about Ben, and one of his best features, is that he knows exactly when it is okay to take a break and repose. Whenever I go over to the Adams’ house, I always see Ben in a good mood, ready to tackle what ever is thrown his way. But after a while, he starts to settle down and focus on what he needs to do next to make sure that all of his goals are accomplished. “It is only okay for me to horse around when I know that all that needs to be done, is done. I hate the feeling of incompleteness, emptiness, which stays inside of until it is all finished. And don’t even get me started on stress. Oh, how I despair that feeling. It has to be the worst,” he replied. No matter how much time I spend around Ben, I can never predict when his mood will change from happy and outgoing to concentrated and quiet.

Ben finally found his career choice when he was in college, seeing all of the different people, following their dreams. Every since he was little, Ben had always wanted to be a firefighter, just as every kid does. After a long while of thinking and discussing the opportunity before him with his family and friends, he finally decided to take the job. It has been one of the most life changing experiences for him to realize what he was put here to do. One of the major things I admire about Ben is his willingness and courage to do anything his heart desires, no matter if it is a crazy prank, or something as serious as what he is gong to do for the rest of his life. He always knows which path is right, whether it has tough obstacles in it that he will overcome, or even just a few hills to climb over to get to the campsite. He understands the importance of learning beyond average, and succeeding beyond average as well.

Ben only has one hero to give credit to for all of the great things he has done in his short life, Jesus. He loves that no matter where he goes, what he does, or what mistakes he makes, Jesus will always be there for him. He will always be there for support and encouragement. And if you get off track, he will be there to grant a little shove back on.

After going through the EMT classes, and hopefully passing them as well, Ben will to go on to become a successful firefighter for the Westfield station. He also plans to still spend a lot of time with his family and friends, as well as attend church as regularly as possible. His future looks bright and full of terrific opportunities for him, which will lead to a great life.

Ben Adams is a great role model for children, or just for people in general. He has more courage than anyone I know. He also has a great deal of faith that has brought him as far as he has come. The more and more he does just encourages me to be more and more like him, as well as study the bible and learn to trust in God to help me live my life to its fullest. I believe that no matter what life does for him in the future, he will always be my hero, as well as a great friend. “I don’t know if I can really see myself as a hero, but if you say so, then I guess that that I am. I am extremely grateful that you look up to me and I’m also curious if others do the same,” he said.