The Ambitious Character in Me

Despite having a large number of cousins to play with when I was little, being an only child of parents who never stopped working meant I had to find my own means of entertainment when I was young. I didn’t know it then, but the movies I watched and the books I read were one of my only means of finding role models, people to look up to. In a way, the characters from multiple pop fiction stories raised me and taught me to be ambitious.

The main reason I want to become a writer is to create safe spaces and fun worlds for people to escape to. As an only child, I wanted to somehow travel to the world of Hogwarts, Mako Island, Auradon, Iridium High, and so many other fictional places to be a part of the characters’ world. Perhaps I wanted to be like so many of the role models I found in books and movies. They were all ambitious, smart, driven female characters that I wanted to become, all with unique stories and dreams, who tried their best to pursue them. 

Gabriela Montez from High School Musical 

Gabriela’s own wellbeing was her top priority. She arrived at East High with her eyes on the prize: get good grades, participate in extracurricular activities such as Scholastic Decathlons, and eventually, she was accepted into the Honors program at Stanford University. Being ambitious doesn’t mean being smart or knowing exactly what you want. It's the initiative you take to achieve and even discover your dreams.

What stood out to me about Gabriela as a kid was that she always put herself first. Many people would argue that it was selfish on her end, but in life, knowing when to step away from conflict in order to protect yourself is an important skill. You often can’t chase your dreams if you’re worried about pleasing others, and when she realized it, she backed away. She always chose to protect her peace, refusing to get into any sort of conflict over a boy. In the second movie, she tells Sharpay, “What’s the prize? Troy?!”  She’s an icon through and through, and one of the first role models on TV I had as a kid.

Esperanza Cordero from The House on Mango Street 

I first read this book as a freshman in high school, and I related to the main character in so many ways. Structured as a series of vignettes (a short, descriptive piece of writing that captures a single moment, scene, or character, often without a traditional narrative structure), the book speaks of the suffocation women feel when having to cater to machismo toxicity (strong and aggressive masculine pride) in Latino culture. We are raised for it: get married young (often it doesn’t matter to whom), have lots and lots of babies, and cater to your husband. Esperanza, growing up around these expectations, dreams of something more.

She does not want to throw her life away. She refuses to be like her grandmother, staring into the window and daydreaming about the life she could’ve had if she had not married. Throughout the book, we see the small steps Esperanza takes to escape from the cultural expectations, often being scolded for her rebellious behavior. As a 14-year-old kid reading this for the first time, I knew I had to take advantage of the fact that my parents came to this country so I could have the freedom to choose.

Tiana from The Princess and the Frog 

Through racist remarks and people constantly telling her she’ll never earn enough money for her dreams, Tiana kept going. Her goal of opening the best restaurant in New Orleans was enough for her to work her hardest, an ambition she’d had since she was a little girl. She didn’t let anyone stand in her way, not an evil voodoo man or an arrogant and spoiled (yet handsome) prince. Marriage wasn’t in her plan, but when she fell in love, it was with someone who supported her dreams and was willing to work hard with her. 

Tiana’s father said something to her at the beginning of the movie that always stuck with me. “That old star can only take you part of the way. You gotta help along with some hard work of your own.” It’s amazing to have dreams, to want your own story, but doing something to achieve it is what will get you there.

Evie from Descendants 

Evie left the Isle of the Lost for one goal: to marry a prince with a big castle. To marry the most charming one—and to please her mother—she had to change a lot of things about herself. Specifically, she had to dumb herself down. Once she realized Chad wasn’t worth it, she poured herself into her passion: fashion. She made her own business by designing dresses for all the Auradon girls, and by the third movie, she earned enough money to buy herself her own starter castle that also served as a dress shop. At the end, she still got herself a prince: a kind nerd who loved how smart she was.

Evie and her mother had the same desired outcome for her, but Evie achieved it in a different way than what was expected. Finding true love and being independent are both valid and beautiful dreams a woman can have, and Evie managed to obtain both. She turned what her mother wanted into her own dream, and it’s something I admire to this day. 

Gwen Stacy from The Amazing Spider-Man 

Before Peter Parker, Gwen always knew her heart belonged to science. Being a head intern at Oscorp while barely a senior in high school? Valedictorian? Getting a full-ride scholarship to Oxford? It was all the result of her strong ambition. All of them are accomplishments that didn’t come easily. It didn’t just stop at science: Gwen didn’t let anyone stop her from helping her city, including Spider-Man. Her strong desire to help the city is why she helps Spider-Man defeat Electro, no matter the risk.

I believe the main reason why she’s my favorite Spider-Man love interest is because she was more than a damsel in distress. Spider-Man wasn’t her only infatuation: she loved science, she loved her family, and she loved the people of New York City. She had more than one aspiration in her life, and I admire her for it.

Rapunzel from Tangled 

When stuck inside a tower all your life, it would definitely be impossible not to dream. Rapunzel made it possible for herself to escape. She saw the opportunity of Eugene sneaking into her tower and grabbed it with both hands (technically, she hit him in the head with a frying pan, but you get the gist). She was afraid at first, and wondered if it was the right thing to do, a normal reaction when starting something new and daring. However, once she leaped out of the tower, she went down with excitement and a smile on her face.

I see myself in Rapunzel a lot, stuck in a city that I’ve been in my whole life and wishing for something more. To travel and see the world with different cultures and people, and figure out where I fit into all of it. I don’t just want to stop at daydreaming; I want to climb down with my own hair. I try to do just that during my college journey and beyond.

As a kid, these were all characters I looked up to, and even now, I find myself re-reading their books and re-watching their movies for motivation. I always thought it was because I wanted to be like these strong women, but it turns out, I see a little bit of me in them as well.

About the Author

Litzy Rivas is an English major concentrating in Creative Writing at UNLV, who hopes to be a novelist and publishing editor once she graduates. As a Blog, Newsletter, and Marketing Intern for LYF, she hopes to improve her writing and editing skills with the help of the supportive LYF team and readers. Her interests include the Bridgerton and Heartstopper books and TV shows, K-Pop, anime, and her dream is to travel the world through the opportunities she hopes to gain through the creative writing field.