Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at Broke and Bookish Here is what they have to say: Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND sign Mister Linky at the bottom to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Don't worry if you can't come up with ten every time..just post what you can!

This week we are looking for our top ten most inspirational charecters. This is a hard one for me to answer- which I was surprised about. So I decided to really look at books and charecters that inspired me to go do somemthing, mostly to learn about something new, but in some occassions to actually aquire a new skill. I'm not sure I'll get 10- but here we go....

1. Lady Morgaine- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
She's tough and independent, she's powerful but still questions herself. She's stuck in a world and a situation that she didn't choose, but she made the best of. I immediately fell in love with this charecter, this version of Morgan le Fey (my daughter is even named Morgan).

What she inspired me to do: No joke- she inspired me to call down the mist. Several times. I was in middle school, but I fully believed that the power she weilded was 100% real and I wanted to be part of it. Obviously I was less then successful in this particular endeavor. Beyond that I was inspired to learn more about Aurthurian history and particularly Avalon and the lore and history that surrounds it. I spent months on it, and can still easily be sucked into that research. All because I loved the Lady Morgaine.

2. Robin Hood- from Robin Hood by Alexandre Dumas
I loved this book as a kid. Loved that Robin Hood was so devil-may-care and that depite being the hero he was also a bit of a villian. Of course my love of the book sprouted into love of the movies.

What he inspired me to do: Take up archery. With an old fashioned recurve. If I could have afforded a long bow, wood-hewn, I would have. I still would. Someday I will have a hand hewn long bow to shoot with. I don't hunt or anything, and rarely do I even take the bow out (not many places to shoot around here) but I still list it as one of my favorite activities. So thanks for the hobby Robin.

3. Katniss Everdeen- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
There are a million reasons why Katniss is inspiring. Her loyalty and strength, her ability to conquer fear and her drive to protect those she loves even if it might be her downfall.

What she inspired me to do: This is related to the last one, but Katniss reminded me about my bow. Which I hadn't picked up in years. It had become a nice decoration, hanging next to the fly rods and golf clubs on the porch. She inspired me to pick it back up, and I was quickly reminded of why I loved to shoot to begin with.

4. Jo March- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
There are alot of things I love about Jo. Not the least of which is her independence (you will find this to be a running theme in charecters I love). She had a great imagination and was loyal to her family and eventually found her place in the world.

What she inspired me to do: Become a writer. Plain and simple. I can trace my desire to write directly back to her. It was unlikely that she would suceed in that time and place, and yet she did. If she could, then why not me too?

5. The Girl- The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
This is a childrens book and one of my absolute favorites. The main charecter doesn't have a name, she is just a lost girl who takes refuge with the horses she loves.

What she inspired me to do: In a round about way this book inspired me to overcome my fear. I've ridden horses since I was 3. When I was 14 I had a pretty bad accident and was terrified to ride again. I tried, repeatedly, and each attempt ended worse then the last. I had anxiety attacks and would hyperventilate. It was heartbreaking. I knew that I knew how to ride, I jsut couldn't. Then I rediscovered this book. It reminded me of how much I loved to ride horses and pushed me to try again. Accept the fear instead of run from it and conquer this roadblock. It worked, now I own a horse and although the fear creeps up some times I remember that I too love horses.

6. Elizabeth Bennett - Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
I mean, come on, she's Elizabeth Bennett so she gets to be on this list for merely that fact. She's snarky and arrogant, she loyal and trustworthy, and she doesn't take shit from anyone. She is basically everything I want to be.

What she inspred me to do: I've been a history nerd for my whole life. I've also been a costumer for local shows and schools for years. One era I new painfully little about was the time of Ms. Bennett. So I was inspired to learn- to study and to create. I made a dress for myself and then convinced a nearby school to constume Midsummer Night's Dream in that style. It was a ton of fun, and the clothes are remarkably beautiful.

That's all I can come up with for now- I'm going to continue to think on it as the day goes by and it's possible I will be back with more!!