My Childhood Hero

Growing up I was always a fan of Disney movies. However, I felt as though many of the female characters were displayed as weak or in need of rescuing. It seemed that every fairytale was accompanied by a damsel in distress. My eight year old self was searching for something more. Don’t get me wrong Superman and Batman are great but they do not embody a great role model for a young girl. Which is why after viewing the Disney film, Mulan, I had chosen my hero. As a young female growing up in China, Mulan was expected to just become a soldier’s wife, have children, and spend the rest of her life cleaning up after them. However, once she decides to save her father from going to war, she disguises herself and joins the Chinese army. The rest of the film shows her struggles to become as strong as the men. She finally proves herself a great warrior and her identity is discovered. Suddenly, she loses all the respect she had gained even though she proved herself to be a greater warrior than most of the men. Mulan became my hero, because she a strong, independent female who put aside her fear to save her family. In doing so, she proves that women should be validated for their strength just as much as men. I was raised by a strong-willed mother and find that I can often relate to characters like Mulan. Having such a hero also helped me to realize that proving yourself is never an easy task and therefore encouraged me to always strive to succeed. Perhaps in the end, I will be able to prove my strength, just as Mulan did.