Most people think about Superman or firefighters when they think about heroes, but I think about a professional gamer. I define a hero as someone who struggled in order to become successful. Søren Bjerg is a professional League of Legends player that fits that definition. Many players want to be as skillful as him. They’d say that Søren would be their hero because of his talents. I say he’s a hero because of the struggles he endured before reaching the high point where he is now. Few can endure the same struggles he did and be as successful.
Although Søren performed academically well in middle school, his skinny body type made him an easy target for bullying by his classmates and teachers. To help endure depressions, he utilized video games as a distraction. However, his community shunned video games, so he had to keep it a secret. Søren later transferred schools, but the bullying became more physical, and he eventually lost the strength to show up to school. His depression later overwhelmed him, and he dropped out of school entirely. He talked to virtually no one other than his parents, who tried to get him back to school, but he would get overwhelmed again. The only thing he enjoyed was playing League of Legends…
Søren climbed to the top ranks and received recognition from professional players. He started to compete in tournaments to win money, which led to joining the Copenhagen Wolves team. However, he was anxious about attending events with them until his manager Deficio convinced Søren and his father that he will act as a father figure and take care of him. They placed third and qualified for the League Championship Series to play amongst the top teams in Europe. Unfortunately, Søren was unable to participate due to his age.
His team continuously lost until he could play on the team again. Søren performed exceedingly well in his first game, but his low self-esteem made him more timid about the attention. Once he learned that everyone was friendly, his anxiety went away. Although his performance next season wasn’t the best, Søren was recruited to TSM of North America. Deficio again talked to Søren not to convince him to stay but to see TSM as an opportunity to start fresh. Søren accepted and moved to America as a changed man.
I chose Søren due to his endurance to climb to where he is now, and I had to face a similar situation as him. I look up to him for escaping his comfort zone to transform from an antisocial nobody to an esports player for a very popular game. That drastic of a transition was definitely not easy for him. He had a glimpse of the light at the tunnel and then had it taken away briefly. Although his problems were more severe, I sometimes felt weaker than he did. My definition of heroes doesn’t require them to be perfect. In fact, flaws are what makes them real people. Therefore, I consider Søren as a hero because he never gave up. He earned and deserves his popularity. He transitioned from an unfortunate childhood to a successful adulthood. I’m not striving for any superhuman powers, not even Søren’s gaming skills, but just to receive similar opportunities and start fresh.
Works Cited
Bjerg, Søren. “Bjergsen.” Bjergsen – With My Recent Success and Happiness, I Wanted…, 11 Feb. 2014, www.facebook.com/Bjergsen/posts/676609642362402.
Leaguepedia | League of Legends Wiki. “Bjergsen.” Leaguepedia | League of Legends Wiki, Gamepedia, 24 Sept. 2017, lol.gamepedia.com/Bjergsen.