Getting to know: Alex

Hi Guys! As you can say by the tittle, I'm Alex, founder of Heroes of Today.
I've been really busy lately with all the senior year stuff but I wanted to write something to let go the stress. In this post I want you to get to know me.

• I'm 17 years old.
• I play basketball and soccer, and as you may noticed by the posts of HOT I used to do gymnastics when I was younger.
• My favorite subjects are physics and calculus, I just love numbers, they are universal and idk really cool.
• I have a thing for greek mythology.
• I LOVE to read.
• I'm a total Harry Potter nerd (hey potterheads!).
• I'm a big Jane Austen fan.
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is one of my favorite books.
• My favorite TV serie is Gilmore Girls.
• I want to be a mechatronic engineer.
• I'm from México.
• I have a boyfriend, he used to be my best friend.
• I got into my dream college but I wont study there because even with a scholarship, my family can't afford it.
• I'm going to my local college which is pretty cool too and I'm actually excited about it. It will be nice to spend time with my family four more years.

And that's all I can thinks at 10:41 p.m.

Lots of love.

Alex.

Larissa Miller

If you saw the Rio Olympic Games in the female gymnastics category there was a special girl competing. I mean, they all flip and do special things, but this gymnast is not special because of the medals she won or didn't won. She is special because of her story.
Larissa Miller is an australian olympic gymnast. As much as we love her elegance, the thing we love the most about her is her strenght.
Larissa was raped by a extended family member between the ages five and sixteen. She broke the silence being a 23 year-old.
She is now an embassador  for child protection organisation Bravehearts.
Rape is something any child, teenager or adult should go through, and as Larissa, there are many cases of people that suffers in silence. We, as citizens of the world have the responsability to do something about it.
Larissa is an example of the phrase "it is never too late". It is never to late to break the silence and it is never too late to act.
Now, she protects australian kids from sexual abuse cause she knows what it is like to be raped and to keep it as a secret for so long.
Larissa Miller, the HOT team has never been more proud of you. You are protecting the future of the world.
Thank you for being so brave.

Gour Marial

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guor Mading Maker, also known as Guor Marial  (born 15 April 1984) is a South Sudanese track and field athlete. He is a Dinkatribesman.

Maker competed in the men's marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Due to civil war that saw South Sudan split from Sudan, he has refused to compete under the flag of the latter, stating that, "It would be betraying my people". He was one of four athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics under the Olympic flag rather than that of an individual country.

This athlete inspired the HOT team not just because he is a really good at track and field, I mean, he is going to Rio, we all know that means he is capable of great things; the real reason we admire him is beacuse his perseverance and for never giving up even when all the odds were against him.

He lost 8 siblings, he was a refugee, he didn't see his parents for nearly 20 years! and still, he is out there showing the world what he can do.

Do you guys know how he escaped from his captors? I know you can guess. 

Yes, running.

Gour Marial is an inspiration, and the world should know his story.  

We encourage you to learn more about him.

Love, the HOT team.

Maggie Nichols

Team USA is always a must watch when you are talking about gymnastics.
The trials came and went, the team was announced and not everyone was okay about it, but well, we do not choose the team, the professionals do.
One of the things that pissed people off the most was the absence of Maggie Nichols on the team, people wanted her to be at least an alternant, but in the gymnastics world nobody is injuries-free and regrettably that was the reason (in my opinion) that caused this situation.
The HOT team loves Maggie and will cheer on her college career in the same amount we did on her elite career.
We want to share you this amazing essay she wrote https://t.co/ODdOVfIl58 , we loved it and hope you do as well.
Today we choose Maggie as our role model. Maybe she didn't make the team, but she made her way to eveyone's heart with her class and humility.
YOU INSPIRED US!
Thank you SwaggieMaggie!

Love, the HOT team.

Class of 2016

So we are in graduation time.
The HOT team wants to cogratulate all the seniors that are leaving high school this year. You are the future of the world, go outside and show them how it is done.
Congratulations class of 2016!
Here some of the HOT favorite graduation related songs.

• Forever young- Alphaville.
• Time of our lives- Tyrone Wells. 
• See you again- Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.
• It's time- Imagine Dragons.

Which are yours?

Ahmed Mohamed

2015, 2016. Time of changes, opportunities, freedom. That is what we all want to believe.

Unfortunately, stereotypes and prejudices are still part of our reality. And Ahmed Mohamed's case is an example.
Ahmed is a teenager that loves technology.
In 2015, Ahmed built a clock and wanted to show it to his engineering teacher, it was a big surprise when he told him not to show it to anyone.
Well, he did. And he was arrested for "trying to build a bomb". Weird uh?
Oh but, it is worth mentioning that Ahmed is part of the Islamic relgion. It makes sense now right?
Islamophobia.  That's the word for this.
Kids have to learn to love science, and we, we have to learn to support each other despiting race, sexuality or religion.

Ahmed is fine, he was invited to the White House and he received a scholarship from Qatar foundation. The point is, even when we are moving towards a world free of discrimination, there is still a long way to go.
Today, we, the HOT team, give him our unconditional support. Do you?

You are our choice Ahmed! You are our hero!
Keep making us proud.

The HOT team.

Rowan Blanchard

Rowan Blanchard is an outspoken activist in areas such as feminism, human rights, and gun violence. While most of her comments regarding these issues are posted via Twitter or Tumblr, she has spoken at the UN Women and US National Committee's annual conference as part of #TeamHeForShe, a feminist campaign.^[12]

In a series of tweets in January 2016, she stated that while she had "only ever liked boys" in the past, she was "open to liking any gender" and therefore she identifies as queer.

(Via wikipedia)

Rowan is also know as "Riley", the main character of "Girl meets world".

She is just 14 years old and already changing the world. She had the opportunity of using her fame as a tool for empowering young people and she did.
To us, the HOT team, she is a role model.

Rowan's speech (we day Minnesota 2015)

Gabrielle Douglas

Gabrielle Christina Victoria "Gabby" Douglas  is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team, dubbed the Fierce Five by the media, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she won gold medals in the individual all-around and team competitions. She was also a member of the gold-winning American team at the 2011 and the 2015 World Championships, and the all-around silver medallist at the 2015 World Championships.
(from wikipedia)

Gabrielle Douglas is one of the best gymnasts the world has ever seen, but, do the world know her story?...
Gabby had a difficult life, but she did her best every single day and became what she is now.
She wanted to quit, as we all have wanted to at least once, but she didn't and look where she is.

Our hero this time is Gabby Douglas, an isnpiration for the HOT team.
Looking forward to see you succeeding in Rio!

-If you want to see her full story you can watch her movie on netflix.

Post by: Danielle.

Olga Medrano

I'm mexican, so writing this post makes me so so happy in so many ways.
Olga Medrano is a 17 years old teenager from Jalisco, México. She recently won the  math european women's olympiad, being the first mexican on achieving this.
¡MEXICAN PRIDE!
Mexico is always seen as a weak country, and maybe we look like that, but we, mexicans, are powerful people and we can do amazing things if we work for them.

Gold is not so easy to get , but this time I concentrated a lot to do it.

It was all ATTITUDE.

THANK YOU FOR MAKING US PROUD OF BEING MEXICANS MY DEAR OLGA.

Post by: Danielle...

Chloe Lukasiak

There are different kinds of role models...
We have talked about echologic or activicts role models but we haven't talked about role models for the athletes.
The first one we'll talk about is for dancers.
Chloe Lukasiak was part of dance moms since season 1 to 4, she left because instead of empowering her, miss Abby Miller was stopping her talent.
Now Chloe is succeding in the dance world without being part of a reality show. She is a talented girl, but the most important thing is that she works for what she wants.
She is a famous girl, and she uses that fame to encourage young girls to be real and hard working.

I know there are other dancers that are more famous. But for the HEROES OF TODAY team: Chloe Lukasiak is our choice as a heroe for dancers.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Firs of all: happy international women's day to all those amazing females out there!
Now, this is a nice date for males to remember how amazing women are. But it is also a date for us, women, to remember how cool WE are, and how far we've come. There is a long long way to go. There are places where women are not treated as equals and we know it, but we are closer everyday.

Now, inspirational quotes from those amazing human beings that are women.

 “I am from Britain and think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men.” — Emma Watson

“Honor your daughters. They are honorable.” — Malala Yousafzai

“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” — Jane Austen

"I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life."—Oprah Winfrey

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass."— Maya Angelou

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."— J. K. Rowling.

Do you know another quote??

— Alex
Founder of HOF

Talks by brilliant kids and teens.

http://www.ted.com/playlists/129/ted_under_20

MALALA

We all know her. But we thought: how can we have a young heroes related blog and not talk about Malala?
So here it goes.
Malala Yousafzai is a student of 9th grade who was shot in the head in 2012 just because she was struggling for her education in her valley Swat. She was recovered in the United Kingdom, and now she is campaigning worldwide for girls education & rights. She was given Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Malala is a true inspiration for us. Why? Because she showed people that we, teenagers, young people, have the power to make a change.
Raise your voice, don't take what they give you but what you deserve. Nothing less.
Don't take anything for granted because there are people who can't do the things you take as regular activities, like going to school for example.
If you want something, fight for it.
Are you afraid? We all are.
Don't you all think she was afraid? Of course she was. But she believed in herself and took the decision of doing something about it.
Fear stop us. Don't listen to your fears.
How many of you feel inspired by this powerful young woman?

One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.

Malala Yousafzai. 

Nominations

We know about some young heroes, but we don't know about every single one of them. If you want us to talk about one of your heroes you can nominate them in the comments.

-Alex.

Founder of HEROES OF TODAY.

Melati and Isabel Wijsen

Melati and Isabel Wijsen are the voice of young nature lovers.

They are sisters, from Bali, Indonesia. A couple years ago the created: "bye bye plastic bags".

Bye bye plastic bags is a social intiative driven by children to say no to plastic bags on Bali by 2018.

But they are not only doing this in Bali, they already have groups all around the world working on this. The goal is not just Bali. The goal is the planet.

These young girls are making a change.

From being students of green school to be enviromental warriors.

If you dont think they are amazing then you have to watch this video...

Bye bye plastic bags official page: http://byebyeplasticbags.org/ 

HEROES OF TODAY

Heroes of today is a free, public blog, created by young people who want you to learn about the real heroes of our generation.
We are the future of the world, and some of us are already making a change.
We want you to be inspired by those potential HEROES.