Who was your childhood hero?
Mine was Anne of Green Gables. I first met her through an animated TV show. When I was little, it was one of the biggest joys to watch cartoons on TV on Sunday mornings. One day, I saw the story of a little red hair girl on TV, made by Japanese animation studio (“Akage no An”). I was immediately attracted to this vivacious, extremely verbose, deeply warm-hearted and smart little girl. I pretty much grew up with her.
As I learned more about the full story of Anne after reading the entire series (Anne of Green Gables is only the first book), she had become one of the people who I wanted to become because of the following qualities.
1. Deep Compassion
Anne embodies compassion for herself and others. As an orphan, she faced so many rejections. Instead of pounding on herself or feeling belittled or insignificant whenever that happened, she was able to tend to her suffering. The same was true whenever people around her suffered, even those who didn’t treat her well. Her compassion applied to everyone equally around her.
2. Boundless Creativity
One of many things that Anne fascinated me was her boundless creativity. She was inspired by everything and everyone around her and was able to create stories about them. As a kid who daydreamed A LOT, I could relate to her so much. Whenever I suffered from my family’s financial situation and my parents’ relationship problems, I often thought of her never-ending imaginations about everything around her and felt comforted as a “kindred” spirit. I am sure her boundless creativity was her way of resilience, too.
3. Gumption
As Anne matured to become her own person, she embodied gumption; acting courageously with wisdom and a big heart. Gumption is such a mysterious quality — it contains wisdom, moxie, attention, roundedness, and drive. It’s neither serious nor light. It’s the Middle Way quality that makes one live genuinely courageously. This is Anne.
What Would Anne Do?
Whenever I don’t know what to do or suffer, I sometimes ask myself, “What would Anne do?” Usually a simple answer emerges and I feel courage to go on. I am so grateful for Anne to have been one of the guiding figures in my life. I am also so grateful to Lucy M. Montgomery, who created Anne.
Thank you, Anne & Lucy.
