How to Choose a Hero
Whether You’re a Child or an Adult
I once heard someone say
Choose an old guy for a hero—
Once you’re an adult, they’re already dead;
I say, go one step further
And choose a hero who’s long since died
Before you ever even heard their name
So that when you hear about their faults
Their prejudices
Their vices
All the shit that they have said
All the evil that they have sponsored
All the sins that they have committed
You’ll have a chance to catch up
To pick up the pieces of your broken heart
To heal and move on
To forge a new identity
To see yourself as someone else
Besides a reflection of this distorted image
Before you uncover the next skeleton in their closet
And maybe—
Just maybe—
The next heartache won’t be quite so painful
About the Creator
Stephanie Hoogstad
With a BA in English and MSc in Creative Writing, writing is my life. I have edited and ghost written for years with some published stories and poems of my own.
Learn more about me: thewritersscrapbin.com
Support my writing: Patreon
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Comments (5)
Or perhaps choose your hero from among those not yet born. Then, should they happen to disappoint, you can always choose another who has not because they once again will not have been born.
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All heroes are flawed. Once you accept that, and stop expecting any other person to be perfect, with a skeleton-less closet... You're happier, and you don't have to deal with that heartbreak. Anger or grief that another human being is not what you want or need them to be, despite them not even knowing you exist and having no obligation to you... That's ego, no? 🤔 Is it even healthy to have "heroes" in the first place? Freud would probably have something to say about that.
I choose Benjamin Franklin. I can admire his inventions in printing, library, spectacles, etc., along with his political accomplishments without worrying about his extramarital exploits - of which there were many - being splashed all over FB and CNN. So much easier to pick and choose what to admire and what to ignore when they’re already just stardust like Ziggy.
This was beautifully executed Stephanie!! It felt like that saying "never meet your heroes" because looking up to others usually ends in disappointment. In my experience anyways!