I really don't have a good answer for this one. I never have really had any "heroes". There are those people I've looked up to, but none that I ever saw as infallible.
I guess the closest I can get to a "hero" who let me down, is my favorite high school coach dying. It wasn't anything he could have changed either, he had MLS. He was diagnosed shortly after I graduated and it was a devestating blow to the whole community. He was an amazing man, a great mentor, a loving husband and father, and on some level, my savior.
You see, I was suicidal in high school, to the point that I attempted (barely) to kill myself. There was an intervention with my parents, the school counselor, and some friends. I knew they meant well, but at the time it felt like betrayal. Coach C knew what was going on and stopped me in the hall one day to offer a shoulder if needed, or at the very least, an ear that would listen if I ever needed to talk. Later when he could see I was struggling with a particularly difficult day, he opened up to me about his sister. She had killed herself. He let me know that I wasn't alone, and that it does get better. He saved my life at the time. So when I heard the news months later that he was dying and there wasn't anything we could do to save him, I felt let down. I guess part of me thought he'd be around to see what I did with my life, and that he was right, it was worth saving.
1 comment:
I don't know that I've had any "heroes," or even people that have done something big to let me down. But I have people I've looked up to, and as I've grown and matured as a person, I've come to see that maybe they're not worth looking up to, and that was certainly a let down.
Post a Comment