Personal Narrative Essay: Is Bravery A Hero?

Bravery is considered a heroes’ trait. It’s seen in all the stories; the hero marches through every seemingly insurmountable obstacle, overcoming the unthinkable with overwhelming displays of valor. They are able to do this even if it looks impossible, even if they are scared, because they often have no other choice; they can either duck their heads and take what’s coming, or they can take action and try to turn things to their advantage. Bravery can be a choice, and this is something I learned firsthand as a child. This event took place when I was about eight years old while I was spending the weekend at my grandma’s house. I was old enough to play in the backyard without constant supervision, and trusted enough to keep an eye on my younger cousin, who was barely more than a toddler at the time. She and I were spending the afternoon sitting on the small wooden bridge over the shallow ditch, scooping snails and minnows out of the mucky water with a miniature insect net and

I hadn’t heard any noise, so maybe it was instinct, or else just happy coincidence. Whatever the reason, I found my eyes locked on a dog – the neighbor’s Rottweiler, and he was maybe fifteen feet away. He wasn’t a friendly dog. Every time I had seen him, he’d been snapping and snarling, lunging to the end of his leash as if to get at anyone near. The icing on the cake was the fact that he’d bitten his owner’s brother’s head recently. We kids had always been told to keep away from him, and this usually wasn’t a problem. He was always kept either in his house or on a leash, but on this day he was alone, and there was no leash in sight. He’d crept up on my cousin and I while we’d had our attention elsewhere, and now that he’d seen that I noticed him, he snarled. My body started to buzz with panic. I’ll never forget the fear I felt then, knowing that this animal wanted to hurt