The American Man

I remember hearing the stories about the war, stories of my grandfather’s life, and they all must have been repeated hundreds of times before I started to understand them. I remember the story of his encounter with the famous General Doolittle, and the story of his plane being shot down on his last mission, but what I remember most is that every time the stories of his past were told to me, I felt like I was watching a movie. I would always ask for more stories, but a lot of stories were hard for him to tell. I have never thought about asking my grandfather who his icons were, but all I know is that he became a man that is respected by people all around the world. When I think back on my childhood, and hearing those stories, I now know the purpose of me knowing the amazing aspects about my grandfather’s past. Even to this day, when I visit him, I am hearing these stories as if they came out of a movie. They are always filled with such passion, but yet when he tells them, he is quiet and serious as if he were telling me something that would change my perspective on life, but when I think about it, they really have changed my perspective on life and accomplishment.

What I hold closer to me are the life lessons I have learned from him. He taught me that unless you have experienced failure, there is no way you can enjoy success, and that is one of the many things that he has taught me that I live my life by. There are so many things that I look up to him for and there are an infinite amount of questions I have for him about his life, but I have already learned so much from him that I don’t even need to ask any more, because I’m afraid I will forget something.

Morris Maxwell Wasserman is my icon in so many ways. His love for his family, his dedication to his country, his success in his business, and his outstanding ability to always be the most interesting man wherever his life may take him. He is the hero of my family, and the reason I am who I am today. Without the things my grandfather has taught me and the stories he has shared with me, I wouldn’t be who I am today. My grandfather represents what every American can aspire to be like. It is hard to live up to the things he has done, but what every person can do, is respect what he has done and who he has done it for. He is a selfless man who every American can look up to.

I am most proud of this piece because I took a long time revising and editing my essay to make it perfect. This went along with my "American Icon" picture that was of me portraying my grandfather. I wrote this because to me, my grandfather is The American Icon. As i said in my essay, " His love for his family, his dedication to his country, his success in his business, and his outstanding ability to always be the most interesting man wherever his life may take him" make him the biggest icon in my life. I feel that this essay showed the man he is and the life that every man strives for.