My Hero: Wesley Leathers

By: Aaron Leathers

For my hero project I chose to write about my brother Wesley Leathers. My brother is fourteen years old. He lives in Houston, Texas but he was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He was always on the popular side at school. He loved his Language Arts class in elementary school. Wesley has two siblings, my older sister Whitney and me. His childhood was fun but it had exceptions. He loved to go to his grandma’s house in South Carolina and he liked the family vacations we went on. His favorite childhood memory was when we went to Atlanta for the first time and spent the weekend with our uncle and aunt. Now, my brother helps out with my dad’s business. He says the worst thing that ever happened to him was breaking up with his first girlfriend named Desiree. Today he goes to Klein High School in Houston. Things haven’t really changed with him since he was younger, but he loves to keep his hair in good condition. His favorite subject is football. He has that subject because he plays a sport and it substitutes for PE. His main hobby is football but he also enjoys hanging out with friends. My brother’s best friend now is Kenny. Kenny is sixteen and they like to workout together and go swimming. When he was in South Carolina, his best friend was Ryan and they would go to the movies and go skating together. Wesley says his greatest accomplishment was when he became a Starter on the Blue football team for freshmen which is the highest team you can join. My brother is a great guy and a good motivator and that’s why I chose him for my hero story.

A character trait that my brother Wesley has is bravery. He will fight for anything that is wrong to make it right. One example is when he saw some kids at his school doing something they shouldn’t be doing, so he went over and stopped it. Wesley has been an idol and a hero to me forever. He is always there for the people he cares about and he never backs down from making things go right. I admire him for being brave and standing up for the right thing.

Another trait that my brother has is that he is very bold. One example of this is that he moved from South Carolina to Texas leaving all of his friends behind. My brother was a walk on to the football team. I think that is hard to do in Texas. Wesley made lots of friends on the first day of school, but he never forgot about the ones back at home. It was hard for him to move from state to state but he won that battle and that’s why I think Wesley is very bold.

Another trait that Wesley has is that he is encouraging. He is encouraging because he is the reason I started to play football. My brother has motivated me to play more. He was a big help when I was with him in the summer and he was like a second coach for me. Wesley is a 6’2,” 200 pound defensive end and I want to be just like him. He works on his skills and he doesn’t give up. I love that about him and I’m sure that he will help me get up to the NFL and be there for me every step of the way.

Another character trait Wesley has is that he is very mature. My brother would never do something that was stupid or could lead to something very bad. He would always tell me what to do in a good way. For example, once I said we should do soda and mentos but he told me that nothing good would come out of that. Then, we found something to do just as fun but less dangerous. Wesley has always been a mature person and he would never break the rules or put people in danger. He would follow the rules even if his friends do not. He would make good decisions even when other kids are only thinking about fun or might be dangerous.

My brother has had a big influence on my life. He inspired me to play football. Over the summer he taught me the basics and helped me with my skills. Wesley is a starter on his football team and since we both play defense, he helped me get better at that position. My brother taught me workouts that I could do and he helped me practice over the summer. We sometimes went to the gym and ran on the treadmill and elliptical. We would run about five miles then go for a swim. My brother is a great example to me and that’s why I love him so much.

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My hero is my grandfather, Isador Damico. In Newark, New Jersey 1938, my grandfather, Isador Damico was born. My grandfather was very Italian and grew up in a neighborhood of mostly Italian men, women, and kids. As a kid he liked to play with other people in the neighborhood. The grade school my grandfather attended was named South Eighth Street Elementary. Up until he was eight they rented a house. When his grandfather, my great, great grandfather moved to Newark from Italy, they paid for a three family house! When he was a kid he took piano lessons from a blind piano teacher! In high school my grandfather was voted the “most likely to succeed” award. He received a medal and trophy. Also in high school he worked as a veterinarian helper in his first years in high school then became in charge of hiring people at movie theaters at his local cinema. My grandfather says that his best year was probably his freshman year because he got to meet new people. My grandfather’s brother died when he was sixteen from cancer and his sister is still alive today. I think my grandfather is a great man, now I would like to tell you some more things about him.

My grandfather, Isidor Damico is very brave. My grandfather was in the army for four years and served on the same ship. He never went to war but had many code reds where they were manning their battle stations. An example was when he was bringing John F. Kennedy’s chopper to a country off the coast of South America. When coming into port there were many guerillas up on the shores who were heavily armed. His ship immediately went to code red. Everyone manned their battle stations. My grandfather was the top gunner on the ship. The ship was on code red for 12 hours before the guerillas left. That’s just one of many examples of my grandfather’s bravery.

My grandfather is also very effervescent. He might tell the worst jokes but when the time is right he makes everyone laugh! When my grandfather is around everyone seems to be happier. My grandfather is not just funny, he also plays the piano and organ at his local church. When he plays at church, he takes pride in doing it! Whenever I ask my grandfather for help with homework, or ask him about social stuff, he is always a great listener! The most important thing though is when he is helping me with homework. My grandfather is very smart. He never graduated from college but that doesn’t mean he was not smart. For instance, he is an amazing person with computers. Whenever my computer freezes he’s there to help. I think my grandfather is very well rounded and very intelligent.

My grandfather is also very honest. Honesty can be a great quality especially when working. My grandfather believes he has been honest all of his life, even when he was a kid. For instance, while in the court system, a criminal asked him what it would take to get his record cleared. He paused for a second and said, “It would take a miracle to get your record cleared.” See what I mean, he could have said “I don’t know,” or “I don’t care,” but instead he was completely honest with the man. Another example is when he was often asked by lawyers if the could file something after the deadline and get it listed he would always tell them “If I could I would, but I can’t.” Honesty can also be a great quality when used in conversation. I think honesty is an amazing quality and I hope to take after him!

I believe my grandfather is my hero because of all these useful character traits he has. In my opinion these are some of the best things a person can have in their vocabulary of traits. When I grow up, I know that I will carry the lessons that my grandfather has taught me throughout my whole life. He is a very nice person and is always enthusiastic. I hope I get most of my grandfathers great characteristics and learn from his example. My grandfather is a great man and a great hero.

On October 29, 1966 Toby Barclift, my uncle, was born. My grandmother says he was always determined as a little kid. During his childhood my uncle only had two close friends. Of course he had others, but these two friends were his buddies ever since he was born. They’ve been through thick and thin as kids and they were such rebels! They would ditch classes to go to movies that they weren’t allowed to see and of course my grandmother and grandfather punished him for these pranks. But, from pre-k to college, my uncle has never been tardy! If he had to pick one moment in his childhood life that was his favorite, it would be in 9th grade when he first started playing football. The first time he picked up the football he ran all the way and made a touchdown. He won the game for his team and became a hero. He is now a hero to me. This is why he’s my hero. Now I am going to give you some reasons why.

One characteristic my uncle has is that he is always so much fun. Even though my family is always worried, scared, and frightened about my uncle’s return from military service and going to his station, he always comes back with BIG SMILE on his face! Every time he comes home from his station, for about 1-2 years he always comes back with a positive attitude. For example, one time when my uncle came back from Kuwait, he convinced all of our family to go bowling. It was so much fun! We had pizza and drinks and we told the employees who worked there to throw a big celebration for him. They made a cookie cake and we ate it all. It was really good! Everything was all well and fine, except when he tried to roll a strike, he went too far up the aisle and slipped backwards. That is a time we’ll never forget! He would say that was the worst thing that ever happened to him. That will always be one of the funniest moments of my life. My uncle is the most fun person I have ever met.

Another characteristic my uncle has, is being strong. For example one time at our family reunion we were playing tug-a-war. My cousin and I were up against my uncle and we were trying so hard but we couldn’t even move him an inch! He pulled us so hard we fell in the mud! He’s also strong and bravesoldier who protects our country. He can never be broken and I feel safe knowing that he is working for the United States. That’s why I think my uncle is strong.

My uncle also connects with people because he is so influential and passionate toward his work. When people see his uniform they take the time to say, “Thank you” to him. A lot of times when we go to places like the bowling alley, the movie theater, or a restaurant, we see other families who eitherhave lost someone in the war, had a tragic accident while their relative was at their station, or someone who just separated from a family member. When they see us, they see how happy we are and it gives them hope that their loved one will come back one day no matter how long it is. When my uncle goes to far away places like Afghanistan, Kuwait, or Iraq I know that we will have this long distance relationship that no one can break. That’s why my uncle connects with people.

The impact my uncle has had on my life, is that he is always there for me at important events such as basketball games, volleyball games, and dance recitals. His support is very meaningful to me. Sometimes he can’t come, but that’s ok because we usually Skype so that way he can see me even though he’s not actually there. He was also in Iraq looking for Bin Laden, which really scared me and my family, because we worried that we would not see each other again. He taught me to always be patient and to have faith. When he came back home safely, was so relieved. For these reasons and many more, my uncle is and always will be, my hero.

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In class we all made books about our heroes. My hero is my grandma. Here is my story about my hero.

My Hero: Ann Yeakyung Kim

By: Katie Kim

My hero is my grandma, Ann Yeakyung Kim. She was born on March 24, 1936. She had a hard life growing up. She had six siblings; three sisters and three brothers. When she was young her youngest sister passed away at a very young age. When she was about my age, she was walking back from school and she saw her uncle being carried away by the Japanese soldiers. She couldn’t do anything about it because she knew that they would take her away too. This was all happening when the Japanese occupied Korea. Although there were some hard times, there were also some good times too. When she was growing up she used to go with her siblings to ponds and rice farms and catch dragonflies, butterflies and little animals like that. She went to a little school, but even though it was small, she still loved it. One reason she loved her school so much was because it was surrounded with so much nature. At her school she was a very good student. She loved to read and write, and that is what she would sometimes do in her free time.

My grandma is a hero to me for many reasons but one of the most important is that she is very very kind and loving. Whenever she is here visiting us, she tries to help out as much as she can. She always tries to help take care of all of us including our dog Kriska. She helps out by driving us to our activities no matter where they are. She helps around the house with the dishes, the laundry, cooking and pretty much anything you could imagine. My grandmother was so kind and loving to my grandfather, especially when he was sick. When he was sick, she would go visit him and help him out. To me, she is one of the kindest people that I know, and that is just one of the many reasons she is my hero.

My grandmother is also very unique. Not many people I know her age can get up every morning and walk about four miles. I also don’t know many people that can go golfing and walk to all of the holes. My grandma is the only person who will fly for thirteen hours to see her family. She does more that I could ever imagine. She always brings us gifts from whereever she goes. She has tried so hard to get her English pronunciation right and I know that must be very hard for her. She is really unique for knowing several languages. My grandma is always doing something amazing. From knitting to golfing, and anywhere in between. I admire her for how special and unique she is!

To me, my grandma is very independent. She is always on her own, doing everything by herself. My grandma has lived on her own for a very long time, and has taken care of herself so well. She takes care of herself the best she can and that takes a lot of dedication. She is always driving on her own and thinking about others. She always buys special presents for us on our birthdays and for Christmas. She does so much without anyone else helping her and to me that is so great.

My grandmother has had an impact on me and so many others. She is always so caring, loving, unique, and independent. When I grow up I would like to be just like her and I think many other people respect those qualities in her too. She has encouraged me to help others when I can and to take care of others in my family. She has encouraged me to do what I love to do. Whenever she is here she will always try to take me to gymnastics and that to me is how she shows her support. She does so much for others and that is why she is my hero. I’m very lucky to have a grandmother like her in my life!

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• When I first heard that we were going to be learning about NASA I told myself “yeah I know about NASA, it’s a space unit or something like that where you launch rockets.” Then I asked myself again, “do I really know about NASA other than that?” So when I looked up some facts about NASA I realized there is more to NASA than I thought. Here is what I found out:
• 1. When NASA was created, it was officially operated October 1, 1958 there were around 80 employees and had four laboratories.
• 2. NASA has two twin robots. Named Spirit and Opportunity, they reached Mars’s surface on March 2004.
• 3. Columbia was the first space shuttled made by NASA. It first took place on April, 1981
• 4. NASA’s first space station was named Skylab.
• 5. The acronym “NASA” stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20130325.html

The curiosity is the rover NASA is using on the planet Mars. Mars is the one next to Earth that is all reddish orange-ish. It (as far as we know) can’t sustain human life. I find this a good thing because I don’t personally want to live on an ugly, reddish wasteland but that’s just me. I’m sure some of you would be glad to but I’m going to stay here on Earth. Anyway, so in February, the curiosity had a computer glitch. Now it’s back and working again so we can still see if we can live on Mars (or if anything still lives there). I happen to know that the probe is still collecting samples and such. Sadly, if it found intelligent life there I don’t think that they would put it on the website so there is so far no extraterrestrials. Maybe the Curiosity will find some. Maybe it will just find red dust and other land forms. Unfortunately, I don’t know.

(Evil laugh) Now that I have gotten you interested with opinions of mine and talk of aliens, I will now only tell you a bunch of facts. Maybe if your good and keep reading I will throw some opinions in at the end. So….. keep reading please.

The Cureosity gathers data weather, climate, and well, red rocks. Very recently, like a week ago, it drilled into a rock for the first time. Yay, drilled rock! Ya, Mars is seaming kind of boring. Oh well. The Cureosity rover has or sort of had two computers. An A computer and a B. from my previous paragraph you know that the computer glitch messed up the rover. Well that’s why there is more then one computer. Fall back system. It also has analysers in there too. And may I remind you that this is only one rover.

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In LA we read a book called Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce. Mrs. Williams asked us to blog about some facts of NASA’s 2012 Year in Review. Here are five interesting facts I found.

• On Dec. 12 NASA’s astronomers announced that the Hubble Space Telescope had seen further back in time than ever before and had uncovered a previously unseen population of seven primitive galaxies that formed more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was less than 3 percent of its present age.
• For use in NASA’s future missions and by the greater aerospace community, the company’s Space Technology Program is innovating, developing, testing, and flying technology. Another project NASA continues to invest in is the idea of creating new enabling robotic technologies that aid in future exploration while also having applications here one Earth, potentially helping paraplegics walk and aiding in other medical rehabilitation efforts.
  
• When the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011had landed, the other shuttles were delivered in 2012 to their new homes, where they will begin a new chapter in their careers: inspiring museum-goers of all ages to reach for the stars.
  
• Approximately 42,000 students from grades 4-9 and more than 3,200 middle school teachers nationwide were enrolled in NASA’s 2012 Summer of Innovation program which provided summer learning opportunities to students and teachers. The program helped teachers improve their ability to teach Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM, content in the classroom. NASA’s education efforts in 2012 got a big step up when musician Will.i.am brought his talents when attending several events associated with the Curiosity landing on Mars.
  
• Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died on Aug. 25 at age 82. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, died on July 23 at age 61. NASA and the world lost two pioneering explorers.
  

Sources: Image- http://www.flickr.com/photos/forthebirds/, Facts- http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/YIR12/

After looking on the NASA website, I learned a few new things. Here are 5 things I learned from NASA.

1. On March 28, three men are targeted to launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft.
2. NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity has been monitoring the weather since March 21 and delivered a new portion of powdered rock sample on March 23.
3. SpaceX has confirmed that the Dragon, their spacecraft, returned safely to earth in the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred miles west of Baja, California.
4. This week, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) released it’s first images of earth on March 18.
5. Thanks to the Herschel space observatory, astronomers were able to discover some of the youngest stars ever made.

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