My Hero: My Grandmother

My Hero: My Grandmother

There is no universal definition for the concept of heroism. However, heroes since the ancient times are regarded as people with a lot of courage and strength like Achilles. Still there are those who consider them as people of admirable characters and achievements. In general, they are immortalized and worshipped for their perceived sense of heroism. They continue to dominate the memories of the lives their deeds of brevity touch. Those who consider these people as heroes continue to idolize them and long to be like them. These heroes move us because of their altruism or self-sacrifice deeds. To me the concept of heroism can only be understood by looking at my grandmother’s dedication and unwavering courage with which she raised her three children after losing her husband in the cruel hands of Second World War.

The old woman suffered her greatest blow in life when her husband and a man she true adored and respected, was killed in the battlefield. She was only a young woman, with energetic blood of a youth then. Her husband like many men back then, joined the war due to his patriotism, only to die in the war. When the news of his death reached my grandmother, she was shaken up. She had just delivered her third born son at this time and this death was like an insult to injury. To add to her problems she had no employment to support her enlarging family. What she had instead, were just two cows and three sheep that she was rearing in her farm. In spite of the predicaments, she never looked backward. She searched her soul for strength and took pride in the children her husband left behind. She always told me, her love for her children made her stronger. With her small flock of cattle, she developed the biggest farm in the area. She sacrificed herself by not getting married again despite having the energy and the beauty to lure any man that she would have wanted. Her altruism left many men in her age dumbfounded. She could not let anybody interfere with the dream she had for the children. She wanted to raise them to be successful people in the future. That is why as a farmer, she taught them to take care of their animals so as to get the best out of them. All of them including my father have now grown to be the best farm ranchers in the world.

Her generosity and goodness is what I can remember of her. Being a farmer my grandmother always kept some fermented milk for her visitors. Therefore, when we went to visit her, she received us with open arms and narrated us good stories. Often, this was followed by lessons on how to take good care of the animals, because as she said, they are the backbones of our lives. She adored them and took care of them making sure that they had adequate pastures and water. She knew each of her flock by name and taught us to treat them so, in order to create a strong bond with them.

This is why my grandmother is a hero to me. Her self-sacrifice after losing grandfather and the courage with which she faced life after that, are immortal lessons to me. She taught me to never give up even when the chances of success are minimal. She also taught me to be kind and generous to others. Indeed, her passion for the animals cannot be overemphasized. To me, I am whom I am because of her.

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