Four Fictional Characters That Shaped Who I Am

I posted about this briefly on Twitter yesterday, but decided that I wanted to go into detail about this and thought it might make an interesting blog post! I love reading why people connect with certain fictional characters. It's so fascinating to me how we can project ourselves onto a character or have them embody what you need them to be in that moment. It's like having a goal to look up to and say "Yes, that. That is what I want to be." or through a characters journey you find the answer to a question you have been asking yourself. 

After you're done reading, I definitely encourage you to comment with your own! You don't have to go into huge detail if you don't feel like it. But I would love to read about what my friends and followers relate to. It says a lot about a person, don't you think?~ 

Ariel by Ashline Illustrations @ https://ashline.artstation.com/

Starting waaaaaaay from the beginning. First we have Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I don't think it's any secret that The Little Mermaid is has always been my favorite Disney movie. And I love other Disney movies a lot, so that's saying something. It has always been my comfort movie, something I watched and over and over as a kid. Ariel struck something within me, even then. I think she is to blame(?) for my idealistic view on the world that I have as an adult. Always curious, dreaming of a world that she (seemingly) could never belong. It rang very close to home for me. She saw the entire world as something to explore, met every new face with a smile, and was willing to risk it all for her dreams. 

I will be the first person to defend her when people say that she just left her family for 'some guy' and let her blind love for Eric take over or whatever all these edgy kids who want to hate on Disney have to say these days. But she longed to be part of a different world long before and saw Eric as the straw that broke the camels back. It clearly hurt her to leave her family, but she had to do what was best for her. She had to follow her heart. 

Maybe Ariel was the first to teach me that. 

Sailor Mini Moon by PARFAIT @ https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=1262853

Next up, is the perfect little brat Chibiusa (or Rini if you watched the English dub like me) from Sailor Moon. No, I don't like her just because she is the pink Sailor Scout! I didn't even think of this until friends later in life pointed it out honestly. I watched Sailor Moon when I was a young kid and it was so amazing to me to see a super hero show where everyone was women. Strong, feminine women who were fighting with the power of LOVE and FRIENDSHIP. I don't need to tell you how incredible this show's message was to receive as a young girl. Now, admittedly, my favorite Sailor Scout changed quite frequently. Though, when I was first watching the show Pluto was actually my favorite. But I found myself always siding with Chibiusa, agreeing with what she was saying or how she would react to things. What does that say about what I was like as a child...

And as I've gotten older, my love for this girl has only grown. From the moment she arrives in the show, shes has the aura of being much more mature than she is. She holds the world on her shoulders and refuses to ask for help. Despite being a child, she wants to prove that she is strong enough to handle things on her own. She fights for what is right and will do anything to save her family and friends. But at the end of the day, she's just a big brat who likes picking on Usagi.... I can relate. She suffers a lot of loss in the show and makes so many sacrifices that I think are easily overlooked. She taught me to always believe in the people you love and to never give up. 

In the name of the future moon, thank you. ♥ 

Miku Hatsune by 姐川 @ https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=8006247

Now you know I had to include the greatest idol in the whole universe on this list. Here we have Miku Hatsune from Vocaloid. I feel like this may be a strange choice as Miku is part of the vocaloid software and isn't from a video game, anime or anything that has a story. But, silly as it may sound, Miku has had a large impact on my life while growing up. I do enjoy the bratty, princess complex character that she has been given (are we sensing a theme here...). But more so, Miku is a symbol for a community. An entire subculture, if you will, of people who come together to create in all forms. Vocaloid as a whole is an incredible community of people coming together to make art, produce music, choreograph dances, cosplay, etc. And Miku is the poster child of that. 

She is the ultimate, digital idol who brings smiles to peoples faces and lets people project their emotions and needs onto her. People express themselves through Miku. That is a concept I always wanted to aspire to. To be able to bring people together, to bring smiles and hope, and be super cute in the process! I use to use her as an example of what I wished I could be. Miku has always been and always will be my number one anime girl. Because she symbolizes so much more. 

Uzuki Shimamura SSR Card from The Idol@master: Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage

This final one took a lot of thought. Uzuki was my first choice, but I did wonder if there were others that I would rather include. A video game character maybe? Or from a movie I wonder? But honestly, this is what feels right. The only reason I hesitate to include her is because she has only entered my life within the last two years. But her impact has been large enough that she deserves to be here. Uzuki Shimamura is from the Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls anime as well as the Starlight Stage mobile game. And she means quite a lot to me. 

I think Uzuki's story hit me so hard because it entered my life exactly when I needed it. She is a sweet, energetic girl who always wants to do her best. She's not totally sure what her goal is, but she knows she wants to work hard to get there. Especially with her friends by her side. I won't spoil the anime if you haven't seen it, but she loses her way throughout the series and has a lot of difficulty admitting to herself that she doesn't know what to do. But she puts on a smile and pretends that everything is okay so that she can encourage her friends to keep pushing forward. She wants to shine, she wants to make people happy more than anything else. And everything about this character touched my heart. 

She makes me want to always do my best. She reminds me to be kind and understanding and to always listen. And I'm very appreciative of her. 

And that's it! 
There are so many other characters I could talk about, though. And real women as well. Strong ladies, both fictional and real, have always been a driving force and inspiration in my life. I always am looking for people to inspire me to keep moving forward. It's important to have that in your life, I think anyway. It gives you a goal. It makes you go "If they can do it, so can I!". That is more valuable than we know. And to relate to previous post, is why representation is so important. So that everyone can see themselves in people to aspire to be. 

Like I said before, please feel free to comment below with your own fictional characters! Who inspires you? Who drives you to be a better person? Who do you feel had an impact on you as a kid? Let me know! ♥ Thanks for reading!~ 

Love & Stars, 
Alex