Who Is Your Hero?

Do you have a personal hero? Tell us about them. It doesn’t have to be perfect to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Your Everyday Hero: Annie S.

My grandmother, Annie, is my hero. When I was a baby, she and my grandfather raised me because my mother and father could not care for me properly at the time. She would take me to school everyday, teach me lessons about life and always be honest with me. She loved me unconditionally when I was good or bad. I knew her life growing up was hard. Much of her immediate family died in World War II and she was in a concentration camp before coming to the United States. She worked as a maid and in factories in New York to make ends meet. She met my grandfather and they started a life together. They were never rich, but always were honest and hardworking. She never blamed anyone for her misfortune and always tried to look on the bright side and be positive. Those values I still try to use today in my life. She taught me to respect others and treat people and animals with love and kindness. I am so grateful to her I cannot even describe it. She passed away in January 2004, and my heart has been broken ever since. I feel she is here with me in spirit and guiding me so one day, I can only hope to become such a wonderful person as she was.

Story was submitted anonymously