Annabeth had spent her whole life wanting to live up to her parent's expectations, but it never ended up that way. There was always those pressures of who to be and what to do with her life. Annabeth knew she would never been the exact equivalent of the male counterpart, but she knew she had values that were the strengths only a woman could have. This young, scared girl became a powerful woman that not many wanted to face. Annabeth went to law school and graduated top of her class. She was feared inside and outside of the courtroom, and proved so many people wrong that had diminished her in the past. Annabeth was loved by her friends, parents and siblings and that gave her all the satisfaction she needed from life. She knew she didn't have the most typical story, but that's what made hers so great. Annabeth was unique and that is all she could have ever wanted from life.
Author's Note: For my personal story, I chose to turn Shikhandin into Annabeth. In the story about The Maiden Who Became a Knight, we never get to see the pressure the princess felt because she was not the son her parents had prayed for, so I wanted to give her a voice. I always wanted to give every other girl who felt like they didn't have a voice to have one. I didn't keep to most of the story, but I took a major element, repression, I found in this story and turned it into an empowering one. Shikhandin should have been valued for more than just her gender, and I wanted to express that through my story.
Source: The Maiden Who Became a Knight in the Mahabharata by Sister Nivedita
(Women Empowerment: pixabay)
Hi Anna! I loved the message of this story and it seemed really fitting since International Women's Day just passed. I think your story is still incredibly relevant to the times since society simultaneously expects too much from women, while underestimating their strength at the same time. Society puts women in a box and they judge women really harshly when they don't. I liked that Annabeth rose beyond those expectations to live her life in her own way unapolegetically. I can see this story is more character driven, written like a character story, so I would be interested to see an adventure with Annabeth. Good job!
ReplyDeleteVery well said, Anna! Virtual round of applause! I could definitely sense the passion and emotion you put into this story. It almost felt like you were Annabeth, and that you were telling this story from a firsthand experience. I love how you took a tiny detail of an excerpt from The Maiden Who Became a Knight and blew it up into a completely separate story of your own. Definitely shined some light onto this part of the original story that is otherwise a big issue in today's society.
ReplyDeleteHi Anna! Great job on this story, women's power!! As women, we are constantly told we can't do this or that, but I think having the will to do what you're heart wants to do is so important! I feel like we all live under our parent's expectations a lot of the time, so it was nice to see Annabeth escape that! Great job overall and really good message!!
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