Who is my hero?

I have just finished watching a CES Fireside talk from Elder Richard G. Scott, a fitting capstone to my first week at BYU-Idaho. His topic focused on dating and marriage, and how to successfully do both with the Lord's help. It's no secret that I'm not the biggest dater in the world, but it's also not a secret that I need to be more serious about it. Before the mission, it wasn't even something I wanted to consider, at least not seriously. Now that I'm home, that's the next thing to prepare for. However, this post is not going to focus on that. Rather, I feel impressed to share some thoughts that we were asked to give for an assignment in my Humanities class. The official name of the class is The Heroic Journey, and hence, each of us was asked to write a short essay about what our definition of a hero is and who ours would be. So without further ado, this is my entry:

"The world has many different definitions of what a hero is. Without elaborating, I would say that the most common definition used to define a hero is that of someone who accomplishes things. While that certainly can be true, the other things which are too often hidden between the lines need to be examined as well. Therefore, I personally feel that a true hero is someone that you need to have an actual relationship with. I have selected as my heroes(yes, more than one) my parents, Scott and Ginger. I’m not sure who said it, but one of my favorite quotes says, “The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” For reasons that may appear obvious, my parents have basically devoted their entire married lives to the benefit and nurturing of their children. I cannot remember one day where they didn’t encourage me to do my best in everything that I tried, even if it was things that I either didn’t enjoy or things that I felt I’d already mastered. My parents know when it’s the right time to relax a little, but they have never been complacent. In fact, there hasn’t been a time where they weren’t working on some kind of project, whether it was helping me get ready for my mission or simply running to the store to grab some needed essentials. While I was gone in Cincinnati where I served my mission, my parents went to the temple at least once a week, EVERY single week that I was gone. Why? They set a goal to serve others, and they did it. No two people can be credited more for helping me see the value of goal-setting than my father and mother. Had I been a teen when asked to write this blog, I don’t think I’d be 100% certain that I would’ve selected my parents. My thinking at the time of what a hero was would more closely follow that which I wrote at the beginning…. that accomplishment is what counts. To be sure, my parents have accomplished numerous things in their lives for which they are to be commended. However, they don’t ask for recognition and are always the first to get right back to work and improve. In short, my parents exemplify the Christlike attributes which are ESSENTIAL, not optional, to complete spiritual and temporal growth: Faith, hope, charity, love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience. Our family is firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ because my parents truly live what they believe. As Pres. Brigham Young taught, “For every 100 people who would die for the gospel, we only find 1 who would live for it.” Well, in my parents’ case, that number would be 2. I can honestly say that my parents are my heroes because I’ve spent ALMOST every day of my life around them, and they don’t pretend to be great people. That’s just who they are."