By Nuri Hodges

"He combined strength and courage with gentleness, tenderness, and great unselfishness. He would not tolerate [in us children] selfishness or cruelty, idleness, cowardice, or untruthfulness."

Naturalist, cowboy, and 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. is my hero. He was a humble and stalwart man who accomplished many things in the face of adversity, while staying true to his beliefs and values. The way he lived his life reflected deeply his compassion for justice and selflessness for his fellow man, animals, and the earth. He left a mark that will not easily be forgotten.

"I was nervous and timid. Yet from reading of the people I admired - ranging from the soldiers of Valley Forge and Morgan's riflemen, to the heroes of my favorite stories - and from hearing of the feats of my southern forefathers and kinsfolk and from knowing my father, I felt a great admiration for men who were fearless and who could hold their own in the world, and I had a great desire to be like them."