8th Grade, 3rd Place Toph Bei Fond

I love this essay. Hannah did something very, very difficult...she took a fictional character, puts her in our modern world, and explains very clearly and honestly why Toph is who she would most want to meet. Hannah this is a beautifully written, very emotional essay; you should be very proud of yourself. Stay true to yourself and keep writing, you truly have a gift.

Hannah O
Mount Nebo Jr. High School
Eighth grade

If I could meet anyone in the world, from any country, during any time period, it would be Toph Bei Fong. I want to meet Toph because she is brave, strong, smart, has a good sense of humor, and most importantly she does not care what anyone else thinks of her. She knows who she is and nothing will ever change her. Everyone can learn a lesson from Toph. We live in a world where no matter who you are, what you do, or what you look like there is always going to be someone who judges you. They are not right to judge you, but we cannot let someone else’s opinion change who we are.

Toph is an earth bender, which is someone who can move earth as a martial art. She became, at the very young age of 12, the earth bending teacher for the Avatar, (who is Aang, he is the peace keeper of the world and is learning all four elements). Toph also invented metal bending, (which is a part of earth bending but you bend metal) I admire Toph for her creativity. Toph used her new talent to escape a metal crate she was held in by two men who were hired by her parents to bring her home.

Toph has a complicated relationship with her parents, which is something that most kids can relate to. Her parents think that because she is blind she is fragile, but Toph knows she is not fragile. Her blindness taught her to use her earth bending as not only as a martial art, but as an extension of her senses, just like her teachers the badger moles. Toph and the badger moles understand each other because they are both blind. They use their bending to interact with the world. Earth bending became a part of who they are.

As Aang’s old friend king Bumi once told him, “The key to earth bending is neutral jing, where you do nothing.” Because Toph is blind she uses earth bending to feel the vibrations in the earth to see. Toph mastered neutral jing because she has to wait and listen before striking.

I would want Toph to be comfortable so I would insist that we meet in any canyon, in the Earth Kingdom. This way, Toph would be able to see because the earth that would surround us. This place would be important and comfortable because Toph would feel safe being able to see. I, for one, think that having her gift would be great, but also hard because if you were not on any earth then you would not be able to see.

The first question I would ask Toph is how do you handle people making fun of you about the way you look even though you cannot see them or the way you look? I want to be able to be strong, but it is difficult especially when other people put you down. In seventh grade I was made fun of for the way I looked, all I wanted then was to be blind like Toph, so I would not have to care about the way I looked because I would not know how I looked. I wanted to not care like Toph and make a sassy remark but when I did it still hurt inside. I want to know how she cannot care because when it happened to me, it still hurt.

I would like Toph to know how her life has changed history, she taught the Avatar earth bending. She helped to save the world, and stopped the fire benders from completely destroying the earth kingdom even though her own life was on the line. She helped to bring peace love and balance to the world and helped end the war that had been going on for over one-hundred years. She showed love, compassion, understanding, and joy everywhere she went, she became the greatest earth bender in the world with had dedication and love for her gift of earth bending.

Toph affects me because she has taught me to stand up for myself even when it is hard or is not the coolest thing to do. She has taught me not to be a push over, and when something is not right, that I can help change it for the better. I have learned that just because someone may not be the most beautiful person on the outside, does not mean that they are not the most beautiful person on the inside. I now really want to enforce the saying “do not judge a book by its cover,” because it is completely true. We do not really know a person by the way they look. We can truly know them when we take the time to understand them. No one can know what is going on in anyone’s mind no one is a mind reader. We need to be kind and friendly to everyone; I think that is something that a lot of people forget. People think that just because someone is different that they have the right to judge them but they do not, whether it is cool or not, it is not right. I know now to wait and listen before I do something because even though I think I might know what is going on, I usually do not. I have learned to be brave and strong in all I do. Toph is my hero, she inspires me so much in all that she does and even though I know she is not a real person, I want to be just like her and change the world to make it a better place with love and peace that can surround everyone. Toph has taught me so much, but the most important thing she has taught me is to be myself in every circumstance, because the best person I can be, is me.