Heart Of A Lion
![Picture](/uploads/2/9/6/6/29663797/362021946.jpg)
A cowardly lion comes upon a group who are walking down the yellow brick road. Quickly, he jumps out and roars. Trying his hardest to act big and scary, but cowers away when getting yelled at by the pretty young girl. Later it's found out that all he wants is a little bit of courage. To get that, the entire group has to go on a difficult journey. Courage is shown all around us every day. It's not simply being the person who steps on the bug when all of the girls are screaming. Or being the one who takes the lead in a group project with a bunch of delinquents. It's deeper than that. The term means doing something that is difficult or dangerous. But it can also mean many other things. Everyone has their own definition of what courage is or what it should be.
Courage, to me is standing up in front of the class and giving a speech even though I'm a nervous mess on the inside. Courage is an openly gay student walking around school in a pair of heels, and not caring what anyone says. It’s the quiet girl in the back of the class with severe anxiety who just raised her hand and answered the question. For the first time this year. Or being the soldier who runs out into the open and sacrifices himself for his fellow soldiers. Courage is doing something that feels so incredibly frightening that you want to run and hide away. But you continue in with your head held high.
Though there are many different definitions and forms. Such as, physical, mental and emotional. Possibly moral as well. Referring to the examples of giving a speech, or not caring what people say, one must be mentally ready to walk up to the front of the class. Physical courage could be seen as doing a dangerous and laborious task that involves lots of work. Intellectual courage could be going coming up with and going through challenging ideas. As well as answering difficult questions that no one has dared to answer. According to Dictionary.reference.com, the word originates from Middle English times the first known use of the word was back in the 14th century. Hercules was and still is a poster boy for what courage is.
Though she is no Hercules, my Grandma Krolzick is one of the most courageous people in my life. Recently she told the story of what happened at the age of 16. She ran away from home. Now this wasn't an "Oh I'm going to rebel and run away from home," type of situation. No. Her running away possibly saved her life and helped her become who she is today. It was an abusive childhood and one day it took a turn for the worst. My grandma had been accused of skipping school by her adoptive father when she hadn't. Since she wouldn't admit to his accusations, he grabbed a gun and pointed it at her legs, threats spewing from his lips. So, as soon as he turned his head, she ran out the door. She ran to a neighbor's house on the corner-with nothing but the clothes on her back- never to step foot in that house again. This was the beginning of a new life. She was homeless, living with friends until she got a job, while trying not to follow them down the wrong path. My Grandma Krolzick had to learn to first, love herself and then love others. Living the childhood she had, a guard had been put up. Over the years the guard slowly came down and everything came naturally. She was able to love and nurture others as well as herself. She's an incredibly strong woman and has done many more courageous things in her life. Doing something that is courageous can help someone become stronger, or a better person.
He may not be family, but internet icon, and bassist of the band We The Kings, 29 year old Charles Trippy shows this very strength. Five years ago, he and his wife Alli began posting video logs (vlogs) of their lives every day to YouTube in a series called Internet Killed Television (Deggans 1). In February of 2012, after fainting and suffering from a seizure, Charles was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In March of that year, he underwent a surgery to remove the tumor. Even after the surgery, Trippy continued to have the seizures. So, he and his wife decided to go to a more top notch doctor. There they discovered that there was a small piece of tumor left in his brain. From then they decided to remove the piece of tumor, but it would be a surgery with a catch. Charles would remain awake so they could make sure his motor skills weren't damaged.
On September 17th, 2013 Charles not only remained awake during surgery, but got permission to film the entire thing. Throughout the surgery, Trippy was his normal witty self and even joked, "My brain is open and you can see the TV remote isn't there like we thought," (Mackey 3). Even after the surgery Charles remained his normal self. Things were going great, until October 3rd, 2013 when they received the results of the test on Charles brain tumor. Sitting in front of the camera side by side, Alli told the rest of the world, "He has a serious form of brain cancer that they will be doing everything in their power to crush and destroy," (Viral Videos 1). They have still continued to vlog their daily lives and viewers get to see firsthand what it's like for Charles and Alli as they go through this difficult time. Lead singer of the band Charles is in, Travis Clark in an interview when talking about Charles, said "He has the best outlook on it with so much support from family, and friends," (Tantangelo 2). It takes great amount of courage to post your life online every day, but even more do it while fighting cancer.
Though he is no longer around to have the chance to vlog his life, and never had to fight cancer, Odysseus from Homer's "The Odyssey" shows courage through many acts along his journey. Homer's "The Odyssey" is about a man named Odysseus who goes on a ten year journey to find his way home after the Trojan War. He has to fit man monsters and complete plenty of obstacles along the way. In the book "The Lotus Eaters," Odysseus is speaking to the Kings court about his journey. When talking about their run in with the lotus eaters, Odysseus says, "I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest," (211-213) To go onto the island and drag his men back who were captivated and intoxicated by the lotus flower and the people of the island, took plenty of courage. Odysseus had to resist the urge to eat the flowers and stay forever. Odysseus also tells the story of his run in with the Sirens. He speaks of what he and his crew had to do to avoid being captured by them, "I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick upon their ears. They tied me up, then, plumb amidships, back to the mast, lashed to the mast, and took themselves again to rowing," (745-748). He had to show great courage to not succumb to the sirens song and to save his men from being taken as well. He made sure his men’s ears were plugged so that they couldn't hear the song or his pleas for them to untie him. Sometimes being courageous means putting someone else before others.
Putting others first is something important that is learned early in life. It tends to help people get through difficult times because they know someone is there for them. Whether it be giving a frightening speech, running away to be safe, or vlogging a fight against cancer, courage is seen everywhere on a daily basis.
Courage, to me is standing up in front of the class and giving a speech even though I'm a nervous mess on the inside. Courage is an openly gay student walking around school in a pair of heels, and not caring what anyone says. It’s the quiet girl in the back of the class with severe anxiety who just raised her hand and answered the question. For the first time this year. Or being the soldier who runs out into the open and sacrifices himself for his fellow soldiers. Courage is doing something that feels so incredibly frightening that you want to run and hide away. But you continue in with your head held high.
Though there are many different definitions and forms. Such as, physical, mental and emotional. Possibly moral as well. Referring to the examples of giving a speech, or not caring what people say, one must be mentally ready to walk up to the front of the class. Physical courage could be seen as doing a dangerous and laborious task that involves lots of work. Intellectual courage could be going coming up with and going through challenging ideas. As well as answering difficult questions that no one has dared to answer. According to Dictionary.reference.com, the word originates from Middle English times the first known use of the word was back in the 14th century. Hercules was and still is a poster boy for what courage is.
Though she is no Hercules, my Grandma Krolzick is one of the most courageous people in my life. Recently she told the story of what happened at the age of 16. She ran away from home. Now this wasn't an "Oh I'm going to rebel and run away from home," type of situation. No. Her running away possibly saved her life and helped her become who she is today. It was an abusive childhood and one day it took a turn for the worst. My grandma had been accused of skipping school by her adoptive father when she hadn't. Since she wouldn't admit to his accusations, he grabbed a gun and pointed it at her legs, threats spewing from his lips. So, as soon as he turned his head, she ran out the door. She ran to a neighbor's house on the corner-with nothing but the clothes on her back- never to step foot in that house again. This was the beginning of a new life. She was homeless, living with friends until she got a job, while trying not to follow them down the wrong path. My Grandma Krolzick had to learn to first, love herself and then love others. Living the childhood she had, a guard had been put up. Over the years the guard slowly came down and everything came naturally. She was able to love and nurture others as well as herself. She's an incredibly strong woman and has done many more courageous things in her life. Doing something that is courageous can help someone become stronger, or a better person.
He may not be family, but internet icon, and bassist of the band We The Kings, 29 year old Charles Trippy shows this very strength. Five years ago, he and his wife Alli began posting video logs (vlogs) of their lives every day to YouTube in a series called Internet Killed Television (Deggans 1). In February of 2012, after fainting and suffering from a seizure, Charles was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In March of that year, he underwent a surgery to remove the tumor. Even after the surgery, Trippy continued to have the seizures. So, he and his wife decided to go to a more top notch doctor. There they discovered that there was a small piece of tumor left in his brain. From then they decided to remove the piece of tumor, but it would be a surgery with a catch. Charles would remain awake so they could make sure his motor skills weren't damaged.
On September 17th, 2013 Charles not only remained awake during surgery, but got permission to film the entire thing. Throughout the surgery, Trippy was his normal witty self and even joked, "My brain is open and you can see the TV remote isn't there like we thought," (Mackey 3). Even after the surgery Charles remained his normal self. Things were going great, until October 3rd, 2013 when they received the results of the test on Charles brain tumor. Sitting in front of the camera side by side, Alli told the rest of the world, "He has a serious form of brain cancer that they will be doing everything in their power to crush and destroy," (Viral Videos 1). They have still continued to vlog their daily lives and viewers get to see firsthand what it's like for Charles and Alli as they go through this difficult time. Lead singer of the band Charles is in, Travis Clark in an interview when talking about Charles, said "He has the best outlook on it with so much support from family, and friends," (Tantangelo 2). It takes great amount of courage to post your life online every day, but even more do it while fighting cancer.
Though he is no longer around to have the chance to vlog his life, and never had to fight cancer, Odysseus from Homer's "The Odyssey" shows courage through many acts along his journey. Homer's "The Odyssey" is about a man named Odysseus who goes on a ten year journey to find his way home after the Trojan War. He has to fit man monsters and complete plenty of obstacles along the way. In the book "The Lotus Eaters," Odysseus is speaking to the Kings court about his journey. When talking about their run in with the lotus eaters, Odysseus says, "I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest," (211-213) To go onto the island and drag his men back who were captivated and intoxicated by the lotus flower and the people of the island, took plenty of courage. Odysseus had to resist the urge to eat the flowers and stay forever. Odysseus also tells the story of his run in with the Sirens. He speaks of what he and his crew had to do to avoid being captured by them, "I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick upon their ears. They tied me up, then, plumb amidships, back to the mast, lashed to the mast, and took themselves again to rowing," (745-748). He had to show great courage to not succumb to the sirens song and to save his men from being taken as well. He made sure his men’s ears were plugged so that they couldn't hear the song or his pleas for them to untie him. Sometimes being courageous means putting someone else before others.
Putting others first is something important that is learned early in life. It tends to help people get through difficult times because they know someone is there for them. Whether it be giving a frightening speech, running away to be safe, or vlogging a fight against cancer, courage is seen everywhere on a daily basis.