Growing up I had an idea of who I wanted to be. I wanted to be kind, I wanted to be generous, and I wanted to be someone I was proud of. I’m happy to report that I’m getting there slowly but surely. I have a feeling that little baby Megan would be pretty proud of who I’ve become. She certainly wouldn’t understand the memes or the lactose intolerance, but I feel like she would like me if she got past my ridiculous exterior.

Fictional characters shaped every dream I had for my future. I have incredible role models in my life, but I connected to books in a way that I didn’t connect to people at the time. Characters like Matilda Wormwood, Anne Shirley, and Ron Weasley taught me what it meant to be a good friend and a genuine person. None of them were perfect, but all of them did their best to make the best of their situation and make the world a better place to live.

Roald Dahl wrote so many memorable characters, but my favorite by far was Matilda. If you haven’t read the book yet, take 45 minutes of your life and do it! It isn’t a long book or a difficult read, but it is full of friendship and magic and it’s so good. Matilda lived in a household of people who ignored her and basically emotionally abused her for her entire life. She had every opportunity to turn into a bad person, but she rose above her situation and took charge of her story. She was incredibly loyal to her friends and she continually gave her family second chances they didn’t deserve. She taught me that the life you’re dealt doesn’t have to define you or what you become. Life hasn’t always been kind to me, but Matilda showed me that there is no reason I can’t rise above it. She also loves to read so that’s a plus.

I discovered Anne Shirley a lot later than I discovered Matilda, but I really strive to be like her every day. If you haven’t read past the first book in the series I highly recommend following Anne’s Journey into adulthood. I have the audiobooks on my phone and I’ve listened to them twice through already. Anne taught me that you can be ambitious and follow your dreams without leaving your friends behind. Anne worked so hard to achieve her dreams and made choices in her own self-interest without sacrificing relationships that were important to her. I’m starting to realize the importance of this lesson now that I’m in college and I have to make choices that could take me far away from the people I love. I’m working hard to be selfless like Anne and find magic in everyday life.

Ron Weasley is my favorite character in the golden trio and nobody can change my mind about this. This boy was raised in a poor family surrounded by brothers and a sister who often got more attention than he did and he still became the best kind of person. Right away he was willing to give half of his sandwich to Harry on the train even though that was all he had. He was always proud of his family even though he was constantly told that they were a second-rate wizard family. He did his best to make Harry feel like he had a family because he knew that it was important to know that kind of love. He stuck by Harry’s side when Harry was being ridiculous because he knew that his friend just needed someone to be there for him. Ron is the kind of loyal friend that I aspire to be. He made some mistakes along the way, but who doesn’t?

I’ve been told that life imitates fiction and I’m starting to get it. I really hope my life is imitating fiction because there are so many incredible people living between the pages of books and I wish I could be more like them. The good news is that I’m living in a world where I can be like the best parts of my favorite characters and make the conscious choice to be kind and fair every single day.