What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word
“hero”? Superheroes with superpowers and cool capes, busy saving New York? I
like superhero movies a lot, too, but this story will be different. My hero is
a bit closer to home, she comes from a small town, many might not even think
she is a hero but she is definitely a hero for me.
As a child, when people asked me who I looked up to, who I took as a role
model, I immediately listed people in my close surrounding, parents,
grandparents or my siblings. A few years went by and when I was asked today:
“Who is your hero and why?” she came to my mind immediately, and her story,
which explains why I consider her a hero.
Judit has been one of my best friends for long years. We got to know each
other in high school but we were not very close at first. It is our homeroom
teacher I have to thank for our friendship because she told us to sit at the
same school desk. We all know how pranks can bring young people together – it
was no different with us either. We hated math and chemistry classes with joint
forces, looking forward to the bell that announced the end of those 45 minutes
nightmares. Slowly, we got to know each other better and better, she told me
about her family, her home and of course about the guy who she had been talking
to for some time.
One day, Judit did not come to school. I tried to contact her but I got no
answer. I got worried. We lived relatively close to each other so I jumped on
my bike and cycled to her place. She came out crying so I got scared. What is
wrong? It turned out that her mother is very ill, she suddenly dropped at her
workplace, she was taken to the hospital and she was diagnosed with cancer. I
felt terrible. I could not really understand what it could be like to
experience this. The family went through a lot of difficulties.
Judit had three younger siblings, two boys and a girl. She was the one who
supported the family during this period, she never collapsed, she helped her
father as much as she could. She never complained, she took on extra work after
school to ease her father’s burden. Moreover, she walked her brothers and
sister to and from school and kindergarten. And she did all this gracefully, I
never saw her unhappy. Despite her great loss she is the most cheerful person I
know. Unfortunately, she did not continue her studies after high school but she
found a job at a nice little shop, she got her driving licence and she did not
give up on going to college. She feels that she has to be there for her
siblings, she has to take care of their education first. I am very proud of
her. I hope you will once find this little text which is just about YOU.
This entry was
written at the Roma Heroes workshop of the Independent Theatre Hungary.
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