(A/N)This came from the bottom of my heart and even if it wsas ment for a class assignment to me this is his life (even if a little) and how much he's helped me grow into the person I am today, so even if my wording is wrong and my grammar and style is sloppy please know this is just me expressing in some way how important he is to me, I'm just trying to get the message through.

Noble, loving, deft, affectionate, and meticulous: are these the qualities of being a hero? No hero are exactly alike, they come in different shapes, sizes, and attitudes. We all have our own hero, me included. My hero is a man who's known me all my life, my hero is my dad. My dad became my hero through overcoming the obstacles in his life, and helping me throughout my life. We all have set standards for our hero and I'm going to tell you how I set mine.

My dad was born on August 30, 1959 in Onitsha, Nigeria, which is located in Anumbra State on the eastern part of Nigeria. He was the last of fourteen children all together, he was the last of six, formally eight, children from his mother Beatrice. His father died when he was around six years of age, so even though he did not know him that well he was valorous and took his death in stride. Fortunately growing up he had the presence of his much elder brothers and sisters to help him in becoming a resolute man. But even all that was nothing compared to the compassion his mother had for him that comes with being the last child.

After my grandfather's death my dad's days as a youth was spent living in an area of relative poverty, but my dad says, "That if you can provide three meals a day you're not poor." Most of his siblings were already grown and out the house except for him and his sister. They had scanty amount of money, the only income was his mother running a breakfast stand with foods like Akara, so he had to be a brave boy worthy of the name Omak(changed last name) and suck it in; not complaining. Since he was so young he couldn't really do anything to help but learn and be educated.

In 1966, when he was about 7, the Nigerian-Biafra civil war began. They began bombing where he lived, and at least with two of his brother off to help with the war, becoming warriors in their own rights, it was just him, his mother and his sister. His mother in an act of selflessness decided that they were going to walk 15 miles to get to a safer place, leaving everything that they owned to the destruction that we call war. Dad though this audacious, but did it anyway because with his mother giving him strength to continue on he was invulnerable to anything and would triumph in obstacles he would face. And obstacles he did face, yet he continued on to be courageous, even with the fear of getting bombed. Even when his mother left him with complete strangers and he had to eat these different types of strange meats, like rats and lizards. In my eyes that's as heroic as it gets.

A while after reaching the safe zone my dad went back to school. Even though he went to school I can't exactly say he enjoyed it. He had grown rebellious and stubborn and didn't like going to school, he was very zeal on not going so often he cut. His family was so big on education that his sister would often have to whip him into place. His mom was soft on him when it came to discipline.

Fortunately just before the end of the war my dad's half sister, Comfort, decided to take him in. She was an elementary school principal so she always made him study. She took him in and provided the structure that he needed to grow into a more trustworthy person. "She was my rock and guiding light," my dad once told me. She had made such a big impact on his life that he made an exertion of cutting down on his social time and overcoming his rebellious and stubborn stage. My dad started focusing on his studies, and soon after that excelling in school.

Those are just one of the many obstacles that my dad has overcome to become the man he is today

My dad has been with me since I was born, which is forever to me. He's someone I love and cherish and look up to. He's always been disciplinary and likes to tell me what's right even when I don't know it. He's been inspirational always telling me, "That if you put my mind to it, there's nothing stopping you from surpassing your limits". I look up to him because he's tenacious, my dad has the confidence to be confident enough to stand up and speak his mind. He's there for me and helps me when I struggle. My dad's always telling me to never be ashamed of who our family is, and where we come from. My dad is funny too, he likes coming up with these different scenes that always make me laugh. He also shows me that hero's aren't perfect, especially when they loose someone dear, like when he lost his mother.

My dad's been on this earth for awhile. He's seen a lot of things that he shouldn't have seen and done a lot of things that he should not have done. Regardless of those facts, he still continues to prevail where others have failed. He's not the hero that pops up and save the day, he's a hero that's there for you and helps guide you along the way. My dad tells me about how much he wants me to be greater than him, and I can't help but stop and think about how great and invigorating it would be to be greater than your own hero.

Please comment it would mean a lot to me to see how others think of it

Thank You!