I’m convinced the best toy I had as a child was my mother’s red fleece blanket.
It was just the right size, soft, but most importantly, it was versatile. With this magic piece of fabric, you could create a fort, have a picnic with your stuffed animals, or cuddle up with your family to watch a movie.
You could also throw it around your shoulders, pin it shut, and sprint around the house like it was a cape, and in your head, you were flying around saving the world. While running with all our strength and jumping up high in the sky, my brother and I dreamed that we were a hero like Superman.
But I eventually grew up and realized that my ideal hero is a fantasy, and with that, the cape came off.
It seemed impossible that I, just another unremarkable person out of the 7.91 billion people on this world, could ever be considered a hero, until I learned about Anpanman late last year.
Anpanman is a fictional Japanese superhero from a children’s picture book. In his name, “An” comes from “anko” which is red bean jam paste, while “pan” means “bread”. So, Anpanman directly translates to red-bean-bun-man, which makes sense, because he’s half-man, half-bread.
Anpanman is a kind hero who doesn’t have supernatural powers and due to it, he’s often called the world’s weakest hero, but he makes up for it in heart. In the famous Japanese cartoon, he saves starving children by letting them take a bite out of his head. He doesn’t have a lot, but he shares what he does have.
This simple story changed everything for me.
I don’t have pecs or biceps. I don’t have a super car like Batman. I prefer sweats over spandex any day. I’m not scared of little things like bruised knees, but I am afraid of the dark. All I can give you is me.
I’m not a superhero, but I can be your hero.
I can show up, meet you where you are, and listen. I can respond thoughtfully. I can smile. I can do what I can, with what I have, to make my part of the world a better place.
I’m not sure if this really makes sense. All I know is that I really need to do it.
Who’s going to do it if it isn’t me?
To be honest, I’m scared of letting everyone down. I’ll keep secretly getting covered with bruises, but even when I fall again and make another mistake, I believe in myself because I’m a hero.
Even if I’m hurt, I’m still a hero.
Searching for a blanket and a clothespin,
Rachel Sebesta
Kansas FFA Vice President