I saw a commercial about the heroes that have come and passed in our world.

First, they showed an image of the Lincoln memorial, then a statue of Martin Luther King Jr., and finally a local DC teacher who saved kids from a burning bus.

This made me think about the plot of my favorite book, "The Outsiders." This book is about a group of teenage greasers in the 1950s who are harshly judged and stereotyped by society as rascals and gang members.

In the book's ending, the members of the greaser-group save small children from a burning church and one of the two boys loses his life for the children.

I thought to myself— would I do that?

I pray that I one day I would be brave enough to sacrifice myself for others. I want to be a hero. I want to save someone from a burning building, church or bus.

But then I had the most cliché realization. Charity begins and starts small. The small differences I make by trying to be a good person make me a hero.

I am genuine. I do not judge people. I want to go out of my way to help others even if they seem insignificant. Picking up something that someone had dropped, going out of the way to open the door for someone, or even saying hello and smiling at strangers is being a hero.

These things seem minor but living in a cold and hard environment, and being genuinely good is something we should all aspire to be.

This made me think about the people that I admire the most in my life who aren't supermen/superwomen and carry no superior ability to me. They simply try to be the best people they can be. I look to my parents as my heroes, they do the right thing, they go out of their way to help others, and they do not complain.

People make all types of resolutions. But being a hero in my community is now mine.