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Mirror Magazine

I'll be your everything
What is it that we look for in our heroes? Do they have to be larger than life or can we admire a person closer to home?
By Marisa de Silva and Ishani Ranasinghe
Childhood could never be complete without the presence of a 'super hero' in our lives. Every child goes through the stage of having an 'idol', 'role-model', 'mentor' or someone they admire and hero-worship. Ranging from the mundane to the super-natural, these super heroes are an essential part of growing up.

Not just children, but even slightly 'over-grown ones' like to reminisce on their childhood heroes or the people they still look up to. Let's have a look at what some people had to say about their 'super heroes'.

"My favourite super heroes are Super Man and Spider Man. Because then I can fly as well as go up the walls. Besides Superman gets all the girls," says Shehan (12).

Says Mekala, (18), "I admire myself and the two cartoon characters 'Calvin' & 'Garfield'. I like 'Calvin' for his weird views on everything. He says things that are completely out of this world and not ordinary. His line "I have common sense but I choose to ignore it" inspires me and cracks me up at the same time. I like 'Garfield' for his simple philosophies and main priorities in life - Eat, sleep and eat".

The same youngsters who count Superman as their favourite may in the future admire someone more real. Why the sudden change of attitude? As we grow older we realize that for a person to be a super hero they do not necessarily have to have great power and also they do not need power to make a difference. Our super heroes become our average everyday people.

Niloopa, (20): " I used to idolise my sister when I was young cos' she seemed to be just perfect. She did her studies and her sports and she seemed to have it all together."

Mario, (23): "I look upto my brother for what he's become today even after all he's gone through. If I were just like him five years down the line, I'd be really happy and proud."

Nilu,(19): " I admire my mother because I like the fact that no matter what happens, she is a pillar of strength. I would love to be like her when I grow up.

Denu,(28): "I guess I have a lot of super heroes. There is Superman because I think the whole flying thing is cool, but looking at it in a realistic way I would have to say, my hero is my father because I like the way he handles things and makes everything seem easy.

Harshi,(16): "My super hero no doubt would be my grandfather, because of all the courage he has shown in dealing with his illness and also how he showed us that we have to accept life as it comes and never complain, but be happy with whatever joy that comes our way."

Jay, (17): "I guess my super hero would be my mom, for everything she has done for me. She has always been someone I have been able to look up to and admire for all the qualities she possesses."

Prashanth, (25): "My father cos' I just like the way he does things."

Some even have religious mentors like Kushlani, (20) who says, "I admire Lord Buddha because in my opinion, everything He preached makes sense and I can connect with what He says."

Even though it may not have been their intent some heroes have been brought into the 'limelight' because of their great effort towards a specific cause.

Here are some people who consider the likes of Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela as their super heroes.

Says Maya, (30), "Mother Teresa is my role model because she showed me that you don't have to be a celebrity to do great things and that an average person could in his/her own simple way do little things that could make a big difference in the lives of many people. Her simplicity, selflessness and complete devotion and dedication towards her cause was very inspiring to me."

Adds Rush, (18), "Mother Teresa is my role model for all the wonderful things she did for the unfortunate. She had great courage and helped to open the eyes of the rest of the world about the plight of the less fortunate."

"Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou are two people I admire the most. Mandela for his commitment to his cause and his way of believing in something and going for it. Maya Angelou, I look up to for her amazing strength and will to overcome her traumatic past, re-build her life and be able to inspire so many others through her work", says 20-year-old Anuradhi.

Then there are also the many celebrities from various fields who are idolised by their many admirers.

Says Humphrey, (21), "As I was always interested in sports and especially cricket, I used to admire Wasim Akram very much cos' I thought his bowling was lethal.

Also, because my hair was slightly long when I was young, my aunt thought I looked a lot like him. I was thrilled with the compliment at the time."

Anushka (21) hero-worshipped popular singer Michael Jackson. "I was a great fan of Michael Jackson when I was young. I found his music very inspiring and rhythmic. His love for children and all he did for them too, gave me more reason to like him."

Shami, (14), "I liked the 'Back Street Boys' when I was about 12 or 13 cos' of their music and the way they danced. I liked Nick Carter in particular cos' he was cute."

Suren, (27), "My favourite movie personality, Jerry Lewis, was someone I admired a lot from the time I was quite young. Mainly cos' his acting was really natural and the characters he portrayed were very honest. He was in my opinion one of the greatest entertainers/comedians of all time."

Well, we guess you could say we live in a diverse society, full of 'supposedly' normal people with sort of different and maybe at times controversial views.

However, at the end of the day we realise that each one of us have someone we consider a super hero out there somewhere.

Who knows even you may be someone's "Super Hero".

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