While Aron Ralston was descending a canyon in Utah, a boulder became dislodged and crushed his right hand against the canyon on April 26, 2003. He could not extricate himself and was stuck for five days sipping small quantities of water and eating the meager amount of the food he had with him. He was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he had no alternative for escaping but to cut off his arm with a crude knife, climb down the wall one-handed and hike back to his car losing more than 25% of his blood volume. But he survived and is now a motivational speaker. Earlier this year in Seattle, Jon Meis, a university student, tackled and subdued a gunman. That same week in California Jeremy Berish ran from his home in pajamas and flip-flops to pull an unconscious woman from her car, which was enflamed. Ken Hawj jumped 30-feet from a cliff into the St. Croix River to save a drowning 11 year old boy in Minnesota. Such acts of bravery separate real life heroes from ordinary folks.

Courage comes in many shapes and forms. While it is fascinating to watch a caped crusader fly to save people from a raging fire or swing from building to building on a spider’s web, it is little acts of everyday courage that warms the cockles of our heart and shows humanity in all its brilliance. Let us not forget that our country was founded by such little acts of courageous people who left their homes in Ireland and England in search of a new land – a land where they could participate as equals in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Little acts of courage have shaped many historical events and changed the course of nations. The action of Rosa Parks to refuse to give up her seat on a bus turned simple defiance into a milestone for the Civil Rights movement in our country. Gandhi led India to freedom through a courageous 250-mile march, which gathered thousands of Indians along the way to challenge the British imposed salt-tax. Nelson Mandela’s anti-apartheid revolution was based on peaceful protests, not brute force. All these are examples of famous people who achieved their goals through simple but heroic acts. There are countless heroic stories of military men, fire fighters and Holocaust victims who displayed spectacular courage in the face of adversity and saved hundreds of people.

Not everyone is given the opportunity to change the course of history or to save others, but how many of us are ready for small acts of courage when required to do so? How many of us stand up to a bully or, better yet, protect a fellow student when he or she is being bullied? How many of us are brave enough to make the right choice in school rather than hide behind the curtain? Most of us would just conform to generally accepted behavior because doing anything else would invite flak.

All of us have little bits of heroism inside us; sometimes all it takes is for one person to get the ball rolling. There are heroes all around our school; some of them are our closest friends, while others are total strangers. They won’t be revealed until something occurs that needs their heroic act.

The next time we talk about heroes, let us not discuss Superman or Spiderman. Let us not even discuss our favorite Hollywood role models.

Instead, let us look at our own friends, acquaintances and teachers who display small acts of courage to stand up for themselves or on behalf of others.