Anyone can become a hero. This provocative philosophy is featured in the popular anime show Boku no Hero (or My Hero Academia, the English version). Yes, this is about an anime show, but no this will not be lame; stick with me and you'll see. The most limited of resources in this world is motivation. Everyone wants to be part of something that's bigger than themselves, but mostly people get stuck settling for a job that just pays the bills. We all dream of being a hero, but it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and mainly failure. Me specifically, my dream since I was young was always to study music. Growing up, the only places I felt wanted or even safe were home and band. I loved band so much I joined choir, then the school musical; but what really changed my life was becoming drum major in my sophomore year of high school. I wanted more than anything to continue to do music for the rest of my life, and so I began to look at going to college for Music Education. Now, for those of you who don't know, auditioning at a music school is rough. There are tons of applicants, you need to perform two contrasting pieces, then you take a piano placement test, then you have to take a theory test, then you have to take a different theory test out loud during your audition, then you have to do an interview. There were two main problems here; One: I had never taken theory in my life. I knew nothing about it at all because my high school had such a small music department. Two: I had (and have) been diagnosed with severe generalized anxiety disorder, so auditions were my worst nightmare. I started auditioning anyway in my senior year of high school. I got so nervous before my first audition that I physically couldn't eat for a week prior, because my anxiety had manifested as severe stomach pain. After that audition, I did five more and they became easier with each one. I checked the mail every single day, praying for an acceptance letter. I didn't make it. None of the music schools accepted me. Most of it was that I had no theory knowledge and didn't know how to play piano. One school said that I was vocally inadequate on top of all that. With no idea what to do next, I applied to a nearby community college. I was then faced with a dilemma; was I going to ignore my embarrassment and re-apply for the schools that I had been shunted by (all of which I would have to work extremely hard to afford), or was I going to stay at community college and find a new career? I gave myself half of a year to decide, which turned out to be the best decision I've ever made. During that time, I learned a lot. I learned the value of a work ethic, I learned a little bit about how to play piano, I learned to balance work and school, and most importantly, I learned what really good friends look like. These friends would be really instrumental (pun intended) in bringing back my musical confidence. I met Grace on the first day of school, and though it took a while, we eventually became really close. One day at the beginning of my second semester, Grace invited me to her ceramics club. There I met Andrew, who quickly became one of my best friends. Andrew was really into anime, and I was kind of casually into it, so we would hang out a lot and binge watch different series until eventually he convinced me to watch Boku no Hero (now we're coming full circle). This was around the end of the deadline I had given myself, and I was still undecided. I wanted to try again, but I honestly didn't believe that I was good enough. I had never gotten any solos or lead roles in high school, I had never been very good, I had always been on the more administrative side of things. I had always worked hard to get were I was, rather than getting there by being talented and I considered that a huge flaw. Boku no Hero saved me from that type of thinking. It's the story about a young boy named Deku in a world where being a superhero is a legitimate career and everyone has superpowers, except for him. Deku, despite being powerless, runs to save his childhood bully when he is in danger and catches the eye of the number one hero, All Might. On his way home afterwards , All might stops Deku and tells him that "You can become a hero". Spoiler alert: Deku becomes the number one hero, and not because of natural talent, but because he works harder than anyone. I decided to try out for the one school I hadn't auditioned for; Millersville University. I prepared for weeks with the help of my friends, and I found out a week later that I had been accepted! I was making my dreams come true, instead of waiting for them to come true. Later that month I got a tattoo to commemorate my new found pride in my work ethic: the sun that can be scene when All Might tells Deku that he, too, can be a hero. I got the tattoo to remind me that I can always work harder. Now, a year later, I'm studying Music Education, and doing well at it, and I have never been happier.