“Hold up your head, enter the arena, and face your enemy. Fight until you can’t fight anymore. Never let go. Never give up. Never run. Never surrender. Fight the good fight. You fight, even when it seems inevitable that you’re about to go down swinging.” - Dr. Amelia Shepherd
If you ask me who my favorite character on television is, I will answer, without missing a beat, "Amelia Shepherd" from the TV show Grey's Anatomy. I've had many people ask me why I like her so much and what makes her so great; Amelia Shepherd is portrayed by actress Caterina Scorsone. In my opinion, I believe Amelia is one of the strongest fictional characters in television history and I'm going to tell you why.
She overcame drug and alcohol addiction. Four times. Amelia grew up as the black sheep of her family, being the youngest of five siblings. Her drug problem started when she was in her early teenage years. She then overdosed and was dead for three minutes. After going through rehab, she went to medical school, and graduated top of er class at Harvard. She then went on to do surgical residency at John Hopkins and became a neurosurgeon like her older brother, Derek. She then relapsed three times after that, overcoming it each time, proving her own strength. Many people (including her family) have doubted her along the way but she continues to prove them wrong. Overcoming addiction is one of the hardest challenges. Addiction isn't something you just push past, it's something you must work at every single second of every single day. Amelia proved she could do that. She works every day to fight through it. She overcame every obstacle that was thrown at her with addiction, and let me tell you, I think that's pretty impressive. She may have fallen a few times, but she always got up and came out stronger than before.
She lost countless people in her lifetime and still keeps her head above water. She lost her father, best friend, fiancé, baby, and her older brother. Each time was heartbreak for her. Her father was shot in front of her when was she was a child, her best friend committed suicide when she was there, her fiancé overdosed right next to her, and her baby was anencephalic, dying in her arms when he was forty three minutes old, her older brother was killed in a car accident. Amelia showed everyone, including herself, that you have to push past every hardship in life in order to get to the good stuff in life. Amelia wanted to give up several times, but she didn't. She pushed through all the bad stuff in her life to get to where she is today. She didn't let demons define her as a person.
She proved she can do the impossible as well. She took one of the hardest surgeries during the 11th season of the show. She took the challenge and operated on an inoperable brain tumor. She took on a surgery that many doctors wouldn't have. That says a lot about a person. She wasn't afraid to take a chance. The surgery itself was extremely complicated. During the surgery, she had many doubts and wanted to give up. At one point, she took the chance and exposed herself to direct radiation. She risked everything for her patient. Wanting to give up, she almost called her brother and asked him for advice on the surgery. However, she didn't. She proved to herself what she is capable of. She learned that she is capable of so many things. At the end of the episode, she declared herself and the other surgeon she was working with a “FreakinSuperhero.”, for all the success they had in the surgery. Using the iconic line at the end of the episode “Only Freakin’ Superheroes." helps describe Amelia in that episode extremely well. Superheroes do the impossible, and that’s exactly what she did. She realized she wasn't just "the other Doctor Shepherd." She realized that she was Dr. Amelia Shepherd, and that she is an incredible neurosurgeon.
Amelia's strength continues to impress me. I know she may be a fictional TV character, but there are thousands of people in this world who struggle with addiction and loss. She showed to everyone that she isn't her past. She showed to everyone that her past helped her become the amazing person she is today. A strong, smart, and determined neurosurgeon.
