I grew up reading stories centered around one hero. I read Harry Potter (Harry), watched Star Wars (Luke), and listened to a Chinese folk story (the main hero was a magical monkey). As a result, I believed that there could only be one hero in a story. This viewpoint was backed up by the fact that I lived a whole life through my perspective. In Non-Fiction Writing, we read an essay about how many people have a self-centered view of the world because they experience everything from their own perspective. The combination of this perception with my huge intake of stories about solo heroes made me an extremely self-centered person. I believed that I was the only hero in this world.
A particular narrative I was obsessed with was Percy Jackson. I read every book in the Percy Jackson series at least five times. That series, however, did not create a radical change in my view of the world. It was the series after Percy Jackson where my egotistical tendencies were flipped 180 degrees. Rick Riordan, the author of Percy Jackson, wrote a sequel series called “Heroes of Olympus.” This series didn’t have one main hero, unlike Percy Jackson (I mean, the series was named after him). There were actually seven heroes including Percy.
A particular narrative I was obsessed with was Percy Jackson. I read every book in the Percy Jackson series at least five times. That series, however, did not create a radical change in my view of the world. It was the series after Percy Jackson where my egotistical tendencies were flipped 180 degrees. Rick Riordan, the author of Percy Jackson, wrote a sequel series called “Heroes of Olympus.” This series didn’t have one main hero, unlike Percy Jackson (I mean, the series was named after him). There were actually seven heroes including Percy.
You may be wondering, “David, the
switch from one to seven protagonists isn’t super crazy.” Wrong. Switching between different characters' perspective actually made me conscious about my self-centeredness. In the series, I was able to watch multiple characters develop and grow, becoming essential pieces to defeating the evil earth goddess Gaea. On his own, Percy Jackson would've been destroyed within seconds. It was quite a shocking discovery when I realized at the end of the book: "Wow. Everyone mattered." I realized that it wasn't just Percy. From then on, I began to become more conscious of others and less self-centered. I learned about the power of teamwork and that one person can't go it alone. Suddenly, I wasn't the most important person in the world; I was one out of millions of special and unique people.
The heroes of Olympus didn't have a smooth ride to victory. Throughout the series, they faced huge obstacles from losing friends to getting trapped in Tartarus. It was wonderful being able to watch each character becoming stronger and develop into their own, unique hero. In fact, I began to respect some characters as the series progressed. One of the heroes I admired was Jason Grace. Jason and Percy would always fight and argue throughout the series. Although I was a diehard Percy fan, I couldn't help but feel that Jason's point was valid sometimes. I soon began to realize that even the best heroes are sometimes wrong. As a result, I began trying to see things from other people's perspective. Overtime, this practice has helped me become a better person. Thanks to Rick Riordan, I'm not a stuck-up and egotistical brat today.
