Among the chaos of the holiday season, CNN has found room to squeeze in a particularly heartfelt topic of announcing the “CNN Hero of the Year” award. Among the nominees stand men reaching out the assist cancer patients, women helping others off the street, people working alongside others to help senior dogs find homes, and so much more.
This evening marks the 10th anniversary of the network’s compelling award and recognition of our world’s #1 hero. CNN narrowed down the top ten people who are most worthy of the honorable award, then left the decision in the hands of viewers to decided who would take the title of CNN Hero of the Year 2016.
Jeison Aristizábal, a humble citizen of Cali, Columbia, was finally announced the 2016 Hero. He has dedicated many years of his life to helping kids in need. What makes this volunteer work even more honorary is that Aristizábal helps kids with cerebral palsy, a battle he has fought for the majority of his life.
This recognition, notably different from most news stories, has influenced thousands across the world into discovering their purpose and how they can make a difference in the world. Most of us walk around every day thinking that we’ll never be able to amount to any kind of worth that is significant enough to make a difference. Someone as ordinary or simple as me will just be counted as another fish in the sea.
“Heroes represent the best of ourselves, respecting that we are human beings. A hero can be anyone from Gandhi to your classroom teacher, anyone who can show courage when faced with a problem. A hero is someone who is willing to help others in his or her best capacity.”
—Ricky Martin
The irony in this situation is that these amazing people started out as simple ordinary people just like anyone else. The only difference that these people have between you and I is that they’ve found what they are passionate about, what their heart longs for to help and they’ve pursued that goal to make a difference in this tumultuous world. One man discovered that he was greatly passionate about helping young fathers with parenting. A woman from Kenya decided her passion was the provide free medical services for those in need. Another found that her heart was filled when assisting foster kids to settle into their homes. Once their passions were addressed and the path ahead of them was clear, there was nothing else to do but to do everything they could to help those in need.
Though Jeison Aristizábal has done much in his life to earn approval and gratitude, this does not by any means diminish the accomplishments that the other nine nominees have fulfilled. No matter how great or how insignificant you feel like your act may be, any sort of positivity and influential deed done to make a difference in this world is something worth more than gold.
