An essay full of awkward sentences--seriously

Awesome Possum

English Teacher That Has A Cool Voice

ENG4U

11 September 2009

Personal Hero, Reluctant Princess and Agent of Awesome

Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo commonly known as Mia Thermopolis, from the book series The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, is a reluctant princess, but in no way whatsoever a reluctant hero. A hero is described as someone who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has even performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal; this is a perfect description of Mia. Being a princess, Mia is seen as the ideal dream, but the reason why she is my personal hero is not because of the princess ordeal, but because she has many heroic qualities like being incredibly brave in the face of uncertainty, the ability to be an agent of change and of course, the level of awesome she has achieved just through being herself.

People have to see that Mia is not only just a hero in my eyes, but a friend as well. I first discovered Mia Thermopolis when I was twelve years old. At the time, Mia was fourteen, in high school, and in my eyes, the mature woman I was reluctant to become. Being a child on the verge of starting on the journey into adulthood, with the process of being a teenager, it is an understatement when I say I did not want those days to come. I thought I was the only one to feel those mixed up feelings of reluctance, so one could imagine my surprise when I realized that Mia, the most mature person I knew, was going through a similar situation herself: being reluctant to become a princess. I realized right away, of course, that even though they were not the same problems, we were feeling the same thing. Relating to someone is a powerful thing in life, because one realizes that they are not alone in the things nobody are doing or feeling and one cannot put a price on the feeling of relief.

Mia was incredibly brave to be able to go through so many things in her life, like high school, princess lessons, love problems, and even friendship problems, all while staying true to herself. I was incredibly nervous about the fact that I was entering into the unknown of puberty, knowing that while it is not like being an adult, it was not like being a child either. With the help and bravery of Mia, and I was able to deal with the changes and situations coming my way. However, as time went by, my age started to catch up with Mia. It was coming to the point that I was already sixteen when she celebrated her sixteenth birthday. Did this change anything about how I felt towards her? No, because even now, when I reread the first few books in the series, when Mia, the girl I found so mature, is fourteen and well, not so mature, I still feel connected with her. The things we both had to deal with changed, with school and friends for my self, and love and princess lessons for Mia. I still felt like I was on the same page with my friend.

Always wanting something else out there (perhaps not being a princess) Mia being the reluctant princess (but giving it her all), she felt the need that change needed to happen in her life. I felt the same way. When Mia found out that Genovia, the country that she was expected to rule later on in life, was actually a constitutional monarchy instead of an absolute monarchy, she went into the unknown of telling the public the truth, while of course, being an agent of change. An agent of change being someone who makes change happen, Mia is a perfect candidate. The fact that someone changed an entire country is a huge change for anybody, but the fact that it happened by a teenager? That is even more amazing. This inspired me to know for a fact that change was possible, even though one was under twenty. It is not every day that one learns this lesson. It is inspiring to know that if one puts their mind to something, a lot is possible.

Not only did Mia change her country government (and change her future so she would be able to do something for her career), Mia also brought change into her high school, with running for president, and letting the people know in her school that sometimes things that seem important are not that important in the big picture, and sometimes it is just okay to like things that one likes. With the line that brings a smile to this writers face every time, it is “give me anime, or give me death!” Not only did Mia bring down the house, but she won the election. When one wants something to change, Mia has taught me a lot about what to do with it.
Speaking of anime, that is a pop culture reference to an art form. With Mia being an awesome person throughout the entire series of ten plus novels, I am aware of the things she suggests with her awesome power. Whenever she makes a reference to a television series, a movie, and even books, I know to check them out because I know I would like them just as much as she does. Not only does Mia bring new things into my life, she also does it while making me smile. Mia is honestly the most awesome character I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and not just because of the things she does, but also because of the way she is. Mia is one of the nicest, smartest, most talented and luckiest people I have ever got to get to know. Mia has a talent of writing, which is essentially what I am reading whenever I read something about her. She does not realize that writing is her talent, and that may seem frustrating to some, but to my self, I see that as a really cool thing. It is so natural to her, the writing, that it does not seem like a big deal.

Without the influence and inspiration of Mia in my life for the past six years, I know for a fact that I would not be the same person that I am today. She has had a huge impact on my personal growth, not just for letting me know that it is normal to feel reluctant to change, but also to embrace change, all the while staying true to myself. Not only did she teach me many useful lessons in life, but she was also a friend when I was feeling alone. Without her wise and sometimes peculiar choice of words, I would not be the same person that I am behind these very words.

With the end of new chronicles of the life of Mia, I would like to state that Mia will forever be known as the girl that went through those dreaded teenager years with me. Not only was she the most constant thing in my life, but she also showed me that even a hero is unable to go through the journey of life alone, change is possible, and that one is able to go through the trials of life while keeping true to your self. Among those reasons, there is also the fact that she was completely awesome, able to make change happen and make me feel normal throughout so many difficult things. This is why she is considered my very own personal hero, as she is to many others around the world.

- Possum