Heros/Villains

Underlying Villains

The complexity and psychology of every person in this world is different. This is what makes the world go round, right? Exactly, if everyone was the same, life would have no taste or flavor. We build ourselves upon our diversities, challenges, and learn from true struggle. It is with genuine hardship in which we build ourselves upon to grow, learn, and hope for a better tomorrow.

Today, I profile Ally Corcoran, a close companion of mine. You will typically find Ally driving her white two door jeep, zipping through the neighborhood, often carrying an iced coffee. Ally, like every individual, has great complexity. She lives on the road of moody avenue in Palos Heights. Behind the doors at the big brown home holds her mother, Shannon, her father, Chris, and her sister, Breanna. She considers herself a role model to Breanna as there is a six-year age gap between the two girls. She says that she often finds Bre “doing little things to be just like me, for example highlighting her hair like mine, or wearing similar clothes.” Having someone that looks up to Ally also withholds responsibility. Although she says her parents do not compare the two, she often believes that Breanna wants to grow up and be just like her. Ally has always excelled in sports, doing the best she can to be the fastest, most skilled, and top-notch player. She has participated in soccer, volleyball, softball, and basketball. She attended Marist High School and you could find her there in upbeat attitude passing friends in the hall. She wore her black kilt which held upperclassmen status as a junior and senior. Her brown was hair brushed down or tied back into a ponytail. The uniform she wore withheld a status to be accountable and respectful. Her typical day in High School consisted upon completing all schoolwork expected of her, completed hours of study, and when the bell would ring, you find Ally working even harder on the court or the field. She displays what hard work, grit, and determination is made of. Constantly keeping up with the demands expected, she practiced each day and studied each night. Proudly, Ally achieved great academic success in high school and also received accolades from the basketball court. Captain of her senior team, she is considered a leader. She received an award from her basketball coach, the “Block M” given to the most dedicated, determined, and team-oriented player.

As life goes on, she graduated with flying colors from Marist High school, and is ready for her next adventure. What’s next? As many students apply to go to college and universities, Ally was at a standstill. She was unsure of what her future holds and where she wanted to continue her education. Ally chose to attend Moraine Valley Community College, where she is currently a sophomore student. As usual, Ally continues to thrive. She makes the President’s List both semesters her freshman year. Ally finally comes to a decision that she wants to pursue a degree in Advertisement, where she will apply into the School of Media at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. She says she has interest in commercials and “the psychological aspect of how commercials intrigue different people and what steps go into making commercials or radio advertisement and other things like that and I just kind of wanted to go deeper into that.” She shows great interest and detail of main stream society commercial and also carefully attends to detail on her social media accounts.

She has grown up in a happy home, privileged neighborhood, and has been handed opportunity after opportunity. This is how an outsider views Ally, and how she presents herself to the outside world like social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram. So, who is Ally, really, deep down? She knows what it means to hurt, and personal struggle. She shares that she has struggled with an eating disorder, and that this happy go lucky lifestyle she displays is not always the case. Deep in the depths of her brain, she tells herself to eat less, and ultimately has made herself throw up food she has eaten, in hopes to be thinner. This is Ally's underlying villain. She states that “the whole story dates back in high school, certain people think a certain image for a girl is like the perfect image…like the perfect body…” (Ally). She says that by no means has she ever been fat, but that constant improvement is a lifestyle of hers. She feels as though if only she could have the perfect body, lifestyle, and relationships, then she can be happy. How can she think like this? She has everything going for her, great friends, wonderful boyfriend, and a loving home. The fact of the matter is, not everyday or everyone is perfect. She starves, and struggles each day with the concept of food and fears the concept of not being looked at as perfect. The perfect brown hair strays from her head, cheek bones thin, with a muscular and toned body. How is one that looks this healthy and perfect contain struggle? The fact of the matter is, no matter one’s situation or lifestyle, struggle will always creep into our lives. Somehow and someway, it will always play a factor.

Ally reports to have overcome this struggle and that she knows it is detrimental to her health. She says it will always be a part of her, and she is happy to have moved on from this terrible mindset and period of her life. Mental Health and Disorders are important to manage. A happy and glamorous life is always as how people display it to be online. Ally shows true struggle and attributes of a complex person and one who knows hardship. We cannot be distracted by mainstream media and ultimately hurt ourselves. Ally is only nineteen years old, the world as her oyster and many wonderful opportunities ahead of her. She is a person of great complexity, withholding great academic standing, strong work ethic, considered by many coaches and teachers to have “A great head on her shoulders”. What many don’t know is the villain inside her that continues to beat her up. Overcoming mental health problems is serious and on-going topic in today’s society. A friend of Ally’s considers her as “A great friend to give you a laugh when needed, and an excellent companion and someone who will always tell you the truth.”(Amanda). She is always honest and whether you are going to like what she has to say or not, she is fearless in sharing her opinion.

Ally may have her own difficulty, but she doesn’t let it show to the outside world. She tries to not let her own personal struggle affect the way treats others and relationships in her life. As common to the Irish Catholic culture she presents a great lifestyle to family and friends, although it may not always be the case. Villains creep into her life, as they do in everyone’s, but it is in which how she manages these villains, in order to try and keep a balanced, healthy lifestyle. She has found a way to defeat her villain, and states “something I feel is important would be to work hard, but while you’re working hard for things, make sure you’re still happy because you don’t want to get lost in work…make time for things that make you happy”(Ally).

Works Cited

Ally. Personal Interview, 11 Sept. 2019.

Amanda. Secondary Interview, 12 Sept. 2019