My Cape-Less Superheroes

Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are the ones who take up the tide and come out soaring high.

We are all so shaped by what happens to us in our childhood. Our first ride, our first candy, our first movie, all of these firsts form the basis of our memories and experiences. They even play a massive role in guiding us throughout our lives.

In our lives, we all admire someone, it is usually because we like what that person is about or has accomplished. I admire two people the most that worked so extremely hard their whole lives to make sure that I grew up feeling loved and cared for, my parents I have been the center of their world. I would mention my parents as my heroes, but they are so much more than just an inspirational source. Words will fall short if I even started to write about their importance in my life.

Moving on to my other mortal heroes. The first person I will talk about is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. I remember watching him bat for the first time. I was awestruck by his charisma on the field. I was so intrigued by him that I went to my dad and asked him to tell me more about Sachin. He chuckled and told me how Sachin was just 17 when he played his first match, how he faced the quickest of the bowlers to have ever played the game.

Sachin was my first hero! I admired him so much. Even now, in any debate over Sachin vs Virat, you will find me the one actively participating in it, nobody can say anybody is greater than Sachin in my presence.

The next person I want to talk about is Michael Janda. When I was first starting to get a hold of how to build a company and how to approach creative work in the real world, I read two books written by him. The book “Burn Your Portfolio” helped me understand the real-world practices, and professional do's and don'ts, web designers, and architects only learn after putting in years of experience on the job.

And to this date, his book “Psychology Of Graphic Design Pricing” is my holy grail. Being a graphic designer or any form of creator in this world, it's an absolute necessity for one to read it. Nobody can teach you how to price your work better than Michael.

I was fortunate to get in touch with him, and I feel very blessed to still be in touch with him. His tips have proven to be game-changing for me.

Lastly, I will speak about the person to whom I have related the most in my life, Gary Payton II. His journey has resonated very closely with my life. His sheer dedication and perseverance to make his own name in the world, even after being the son of the great Gary Payton has made me respect and admire him a lot.

He chose to work hard to earn fame based on his talent when fame was all he would have gotten if he had just asked for it. And he was dyslexic too. That determination fuelled something in me.

So, here’s the list of all my heroes, those who didn’t need a cape to show the world that there could be more to it, more to just submitting to the world’s rules, but to work towards bending them.

Yours,
Shasha