Its funny; I’m obsessed with a lot of fandoms. Which equals into obsessing over a ton of characters in those fandoms. I love everyone in the Harry Potter universe, I love the elves in Lord of the Rings, I’m obsessed with Princess Leia and the Doctor and on and on. But probably my favorite character in all of my fandoms is Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter world.

I know, Ron Weasley. Most of the time when people ask me who my favorite Harry Potter character is and I say Ron, I get “why?” Ron’s a jerk, Ron is lazy, etc, etc.

But I adore Ron. And there are several reasons why.

First off, look at his best friends. I couldn’t have Harry Potter as my favorite character. I love Harry, don’t get me wrong. But he’s the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, the one who is famous and stands out and has the bravery and the courage and the selflessness to sacrifice himself for everyone he loves and more. Oh and don’t forget his fantastic talent on the Quidditch pitch. And then you have Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age, who literally can memorize a book word-for-word and is extremely quick thinking and clever. These two people are amazing, and though I love them dearly, its so hard to relate to them.

Ron, on the other hand, is just Ron. He’s so…real to me. He has his faults, of course. He’s a tall, redheaded, freckly kid with average intelligence and average athletic ability. He’s overshadowed by his five older brothers and even his younger sister at times. He’s overshadowed by his best friend. He’s just so normal with normal feelings. He’s angry and hungry when they’re searching for the Deathly Hallows. Everyone sees him as such a jerk and so selfish but he’s 17/18 years old. That’s not an easy thing to take on. I’m sure all of us are selfless enough to drop everything in our lives to save the world and be hungry and not see our family or friends or any of that. Not. He’s the character with the most realness to him.

And that’s why he’s my favorite character. I can completely relate to this guy. He’s average all around, which is what I’ve felt like for most of my life. I have no considerable talents, except maybe writing and reading, but they don’t exactly gather around to applaud you for reading an 800 page book in a few hours. He’s selfish, which I know that I definitely can be at times. I sometimes fear that is one of my more prominent faults, my selfishness and sometimes it can be hard to control, especially when you’re surrounded by people who are so damn selfless.

And he is constantly living in the shadows of others. This is definitely something I can relate to. I’ve always managed to attach myself to best friends who are prettier and smarter and more outgoing and charming and well-liked than I am. I’m shy and quiet (if I don’t know you) and can be lacking of confidence in my abilities and my looks. And I always seem to attach myself to those shining stars, the ones that can’t help but be noticed by everyone around you. And I love all my friends, past and present, they are amazing people. But sometimes it gets hard to live in that shadow. Its hard to watch your new friends become better friends with your best friend. Its hard watching guys you’ve liked being charmed as hell by your best friend. Its hard standing on the sidelines while the spotlight hits them. And its hard to live in the shadow of my much prettier younger sister and my extremely athletically talented younger brother. It’s hard. And its so very not to feel resentful and selfish and angry and jealous sometimes just like Ron does in the books towards Harry, sometimes Hermione and definitely his brothers.

So that is why Ron is my favorite character of all time. It is why I love Donna Noble the best of the Doctor’s companions, because she’s so normal and real and she lacks that confidence in herself, just a temp. It’s why I love Edmund from Chronicles of Narnia; he only did what a little boy jealous of his older brother would do. It’s why I love Han Solo, because he wants to help, but he’s selfish and he wants that money and he wants to stay alive. I love these characters because they are real and the envelope both the good and bad things about being a human being. Because Ron is a good person, a great person, who just sometimes gets those normal human feelings of anger and jealousy and resentment. But in the end, he always remains a good friend, a good brother and a good person. And I love him for it.

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P.S. I will be doing a Dark Knight Rises review VERY soon and also will be starting the 30-Day Book Challenge VERY soon! Stay tuned for more awesomeness from whatanerdgirlsays!