"Jack"

As a child I held a strange curiosity for former President John F. Kennedy. I would frequently spend hours entertaining myself at my dad's office while he worked, usually after everyone else had gone home. While he employed me to clean the bathrooms, empty trash cans, and seal envelopes, there was usually spare time available to me. This free time brought me to sift through the books that decorated the large bookcase in his office. There was a certain section dedicated to JFK, which often received my attention. I had premature reading comprehension and therefore mainly enjoyed the pictures. However, for some unknown reason, this man fascinated me.

Around this time my classmates and I were given an assignment to research a person from history and present our new-found knowledge to the class, in character (costume). Immediately I made my decision: JFK. I was now required to look at, and read, more than just the pictures. I learned that Kennedy, while serving in the military during WWII, had saved the crew of his sinking PT boat. I learned that he was the second youngest man, and first Catholic, ever elected to be elected POTUS. I learned that he was extremely charismatic. I learned that he exhibited strong leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I learned that he was a respected friend of Martin Luther King Jr., whose movement he supported. And finally, I learned that he was assassinated during a Dallas, TX motorcade.

This historically complex moment puzzled my adolescent mind, "Why would anyone want to kill such a man?" Into my adulthood I have retained an admiration and intrigue for the 35th President, despite revelations of his political and moral shortcomings. To me, he embodies both human greatness and imperfection. Kennedy said: "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men." Which is to say that greatness comes through progression, made possible by challenges. Consequently, uncomfortable times will expose chinks, or imperfections, in the human armor. If such times are confronted with faith and fortitude, the result will be a stronger man or woman.

"Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary."

-Gerard Way