Hero

For most people, being a hero means wearing tights and having super powers that are on TV. For me heroes are unique individuals who constantly put people in their lives before themselves. They are devoted, strong-minded, unselfish, and willing to sacrifice for others. For that reason I chose my grandma, Mary Gilmer, over all my other heroes.

She is the kind of person who makes me feel better when I get in trouble or when I get sick. She's there whenever I need to be fuss over at or chicken noodle soup; she tried to raise me the best she could. She did the most to make me feel safe and happy, even though she works at night at the hospital. She lives in an old blue house, with her new husband. It's the same neighborhood that she was raised in during the 40's and 50's. I visit her as many times as I can a year, and when I do she is so pleased to see her second oldest grandson.

She is an unyielding spirited woman, always unwavering to fight for what she wants and believes in. Grandma has had a very difficult life and has overcome obstacles. She had to take care of her six kids and now me and my sister. She has never lost the passion for life because of her strong Baptist beliefs. Even though hard times might draw closer, or a storm may be heading her way. She is always hopeful she always says, "It's a sign that God has the reason for doing this." She had to overcome family matters with her first husband, my grandpa. She had a full-time job, but since he is a drunk only left her with only $40 a week to raise six kids. She made do with this while working as a cook at a local high school, and then as a CNP at the state hospital that I was born at. Even though having two heart attacks, she was still able to raise my sister and I while working nights. Now she is retired, and she is taking care of my sister who is ten, but she still is able to send me money every two weeks.

My grandmother, known by all the kids in the neighborhood as "Aunt Mary," selling her freeze cups and different kinds of snack to kids around the house, but not trying to make a profit. She just does it to see the kids around the neighborhood with their smile and running around the back dirt streets of Shreveport, Louisiana. She is the old lady who knows every family's name in the neighborhood, the one who when the holidays come around has baskets of gifts for everyone.

Grandma is not the most famous individual