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| heroic identity . I have no way of knowing what will happen tomorrow, what will stand in my way or force me forward. Chance will decide if my name is remembered; but I can name those things which make a man great, whether he builds a university, identifies the human genome, teaches children, or aids the elderly in dying without fear. My life has been a struggle to identify the qualities of heroes. I have tried to discover these characteristics and stamp out the parts of myself born of inertia and denial, greed and confusion, and replace them with the stuff of heroes. The elements of heroic identity are woven together in such a way that it becomes difficult to analyze the individual threads. I have chosen the three I consider fundamental to human achievement and happiness. I would like to be remembered for always struggling to achieve these three qualities: authenticity, articulation, and fearlessness. Authenticity is the cornerstone of greatness; authenticity in our relations with others and ourselves, but most importantly an authentic relationship with reality. We must dedicate ourselves to dealing honestly with the nature of things, no matter how disturbing or opposed to our desires, regardless of how alone we may be in our beliefs. Honesty is the most powerful tool we have against adversity, a dedication to truth gives us the flexibility to adapt to any situation. Articulation is the technology of thought. Doing everything we can to communicate clearly and completely leaves less room for confusion and doubt; it makes it easier for us to assist and be assisted by others. It also gives us the ability to teach, to let others know they are not alone in their struggle for beauty and truth, that the plague of self-doubt touches us all in times of trouble. It is articulation that assists us in discovering ourselves; our ability to name our fears is half the fight to destroying them. Fearlessness is the result of a lifetime dedicated to authenticity and articulation. It is only through constant vigilance that we might defeat fear. Fear stands always waiting, the wrecking ball of the mind. The nadir of fear is easily accessible to every man; too often we fall prey to the siren call of self-doubt. Crippled we stand barred from the tool of thought by our own decisions. Fear like decay takes no effort. We see the sinking roof, rusted walls of men and women run through with fear clearly in modern entertainment. Too much of what we do is a struggle to kill time, too often we sell our souls to escape the sound of their screams. If I die tomorrow or in fifty years I wish to be remembered as a soldier of self-discovery. I hope that my struggle for authenticity, articulation and fearlessness might help others conquer their self-doubt; raise high the banner of thought. It does not matter that anyone remember me. It matters only that something I do or say might help one lonely child or a depressed mother see the purpose of perseverance, of thinking instead of fearing.
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