We can be heroes.

It's true. I must admit to another personal social failing: I was an Academic Decathlon Team member.

Yes, this should make you laugh because: One, I am not smart, and, two, when you look up what Academic Decathlon is online you most likely get Rickrolled to a Web page that displays photos of nothing but nerds in all their studious and socially-awkward glory.

Just remember I used the words "brief stint" in my opening. Honestly, I got guilted onto the team by my humanities teacher. I didn't need the class credit; for me, the humanities class was a stray elective to fill my time before I graduated. And we got to read interesting books and plays, study Andrew Lloyd Weber and learn about Paul Klee. I loved it. I wish life was a humanities course. Mrs. Bremmer, however, used the class as an opportunity to suck unsuspecting souls onto her AD team, plunging them into popularity disparity.

I went to one AD meet, sick as a dog. Part of the day's events included an interview competition. I perked up for that part, sucked down some Sudafed and made ready to chat the judges up. No one has ever accused me of not knowing my way around a conversation. (Or as Dr. X likes to say, "You can tell a German woman, but you can't tell her much." I refuse to think about what that comment might really mean.)

I walked into the interview room and faced three of the nicest adults (at the time) I'd ever met who asked me all kinds of questions. Their last one, though, has baffled me for years and I still don't know the answer: "Who is your personal hero?"

You mean like the brightly-colored unitard, big hair and go-go boots sort ? Or the selfless martyrs that grace the stained glass windows of my parish church? I said Audrey Hepburn. In my defense, she was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and an amazing person. It wasn't just because I'd seen "Breakfast at Tiffany's" about 1,000 times.

I did score high in the interview portion, but I know I lost points for Audrey Hepburn. Thanks, "My Fail Lady." What is the right answer?

I still don't know.

Jesus? Mother Teresa? Abraham Lincoln? Gandhi? Ann Frank? Nelson Mandela? Sister Helen Prejean? Martin Luther King, Jr.? Sherron Watkins? Marla Runyan? My mother? My grandmother? My friend, Mummy Toe?

Yes, to all of those and so many more. And Madonna.

Yes, Madonna. Do I embrace her morals , her Kabbalah, politics or personal life? No. Do I ever want to see her naked coffee-table book? Heck, no. But does she break herself down, build herself back up and launch a new Madonna for the world to sing along or dance with every three to four years? Yes and, most of us, love it. From a career perspective alone, she is amazing. Take a step back - she's not talented at much but a bit of dancing and four-hour Pilates sessions. Yet, she creates this image that sells, that influences and that dominates pop culture.

I have no aspirations to be the next Material Girl. But I do strive to be a published author who is constantly revising and writing what readers want, and being decent at it. (I probably wouldn't take Michael Jackson to the Oscars either.) And I'm constantly reinventing myself and, hopefully, successfully. Seriously, I never thought wife, mother, triathlete, journalist, fiction writer, volunteer, marathon runner would ever figure into my personal stats. Oh, and Academic Decathlon Team member. But that's me - and I'm eager to see what I might become next.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. All walks of life and are heroes for all sorts of reasons. Many of us won't get a chance to save the world or wear a gold bustier in front of thousands of screaming fans, but we live our lives (and change our lives) for others, in our own way. That's not a legitimate super power, but it's powerful all the same.