My Hero's journey

In the last unit in the Stories class, which is called Journeys, the class went over and learned about the steps that make up the journey of a hero. For our last action project, the class was asked to analyze a fictional hero and also interview a real life hero. We created a slideshow on paper presenting all the steps to the fictional hero’s journey, and created a transcript that holds the interview of our real life hero. Like my previous projects, it was tough choosing a hero to analyze, but after brainstorming many qualities that a hero needs, I easily was able to choose one. I was actually surprised that I enjoyed watching my hero’s movie all over again, all while writing about the different steps in her journey. While going through the steps I think I’ve noticed many things that I hadn’t noticed before. In the process of creating this project I had a tough time with the slideshow and trying to present the steps of the hero’s journey because I didn’t want to inaccurately represent what the hero went through. I got over that situation when I carefully went over the different steps and just took some time to focus, which is something that I’m proud of. Before this unit I didn’t even know that a hero had steps in their journey in order to become the hero they are today. Thanks to this unit and project I now have a better understanding of how an extraordinary journey can shape a person into a hero.

The two heroes who I chose were Mulan and my aunt IA, with Mulan obviously being the fictional hero and my aunt being my real life hero. I chose Mulan because although she is very clumsy and silly, she is still very brave. She stood up when she knew she needed to. Mulan was scared, but her courage gave her a chance to prove who she really was on the inside. Being surrounded by men who thought little of women must have been tough for her while fighting a battle, but at the end she ended up winning the battle and gaining victory for China again. I chose my aunt as a real life hero because of what she had to go through while battling Leukemia at a young age. Just like Mulan, my aunt was young when she had to become strong. Both were also very scared, but both were also very courageous.They went through many tough events before things got better, and it was because they both believed in themselves. Just like Mulan, my aunt won a battle that she didn’t think she would win in the beginning.

Below I have the slideshow on paper showing Mulan going through her journey into making her a hero. Which include the 8 steps of The call, Mentor, Crossing the threshold, Trials, Infinate Despair, Rebirth, Atonment, and The Return.

RD. Mulan's adventure. Photography. 2014 

Real life Hero Interview:

Q:What are some other reasons why others look up to you?

A: People look up to me because I'm a 2x cancer survivor. I started fighting cancer at the age of 19 and I didn't realize until then how strong of a person I really am.

Q:Who would you say most helped you decide what you wanted to do?

A: Dealing with what I went through being around nurses, doctors, and just being around the healthcare industry  helped me decide that I wanted to pursue a career in nursing, which is why I'm in nursing school now.

Q:Do you think this new job is for you?

A: I think nursing is for me because I know what is expected from a patient because I used to be one. It will be easy for me to empathize with other patients, and I want to give back to others what was given to me.

Q: Along your way, did you know anyone that was going through the same thing as you?

A: I never knew anyone going through the same thing I was going through, which made it pretty scary because I didn't know what was going to happen. But I had to remain strong and positive and hope for the best.

Q: What were the greatest challenges you’ve faced throughout your life?

A: The biggest challenge I faced was fighting for my life.

Q: How did it change you for the better?

A: It changed me for the better because it made me realize not to take life for granted. I saw this challenge as a little blessing in disguise, it made me appreciate everything in my life so much more.

Q: What did the challenge consist of?

A: The challenge consisted of fighting for my life, staying in the hospital for months, getting different treatments, all while trying to stay positive.

Q: What skills have you held on to that still help you today

A:Its taught me to keep my head up and to stay positive through everything. Not everything is as bad as it seems, and that other people are going through worse things.

Citations:

Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Prod. Pam Coats. 1998.

Mulan10. Mulan. Photograph. 2012

The-Corngobbler. Mulan Poster. Photograph. ND

Hazelnutsandcream. Mulan and Ling Shang. ND

Mulan in Armour. Photograph. ND