The Zelda game series holds an extremely special place in my heart. This is true for most of the games themselves, but also the various lessons that we take from the series. The Legend of Zelda series makes me thankful for the true courage I had to face real life challenges and ultimately allowed me to find my true meaning of home.

True courage is displayed when someone faces danger even if they are afraid of the danger. For those who do not know much about me, I struggled a lot to find my courage during the pandemic when it started in March 2020. I went through various changes (mainly my vision being restored), but I also went through incredible growth. This was to not only regain my courage, but to also prove that I can thrive without my mother controlling my every move.

I was living with my mother during the pandemic and, while the photos with me and her may show a strong bond between mother and daughter (I will not share them here for privacy reasons), my life was not as pleasant outside those pictures. To put it in simple terms, my mother led me down a dark path. She manipulated me into believing things that were not at all true. For example, I caught her once saying to another family member that I would never become a thriving adult and I would always live with her. The icing on the cake, however, was that she took away my freedom. 

However, just as I thought my life with my mother was about to get worse, it got better.

Fast forward to late August of 2020 and my mother discovers that I was given a phone in secret from my father. At this point, I had gathered enough courage to say something to my mother, but I had to time it and make sure it was the right moment before I made my move. I waited for her to stop yelling at me for having a phone in the first place (with internet access which was an absolute “no” for her) before I simply told her that I was done living with her and that I decided right then and there to move in with my father full time. 

My mother was, understandably, shocked at my decision. She started telling me that she always wanted to see me grow up to be a responsible adult, but I argued back saying that she was the one who manipulated me and led me down a dark path. While I will not go any further here, I will say that I am grateful to be living with my father now because he allows me to do anything I want to do. Like the hero of Hyrule himself, I emerged victorious against my mother because I finally found my true courage.

When I got Tears of the Kingdom, I knew I was in for quite the treat. But I did not realize how much of it would relate to my real life experiences. In the seventh memory titled A Show of Fealty, Ganondorf (the leader of the Gerudo tribe) convinces King Rauru to accept the Gerudo tribe into the young kingdom of Hyrule. Rauru accepts this offer, but is completely aware that Ganondorf has an evil nature that even Zelda notices. However, Rauru tells Zelda not to worry about Ganondorf as if to have Zelda believe that there is nothing wrong. The same is true with me except I was always worried about how my mother treated me.

Ganondorf and the Gerudo Tribe during the memory A Show of Fealty from Tears of the Kingdom. Think of Ganondorf as my mother and the Gerudo tribe behind Ganondorf as people my mother successfully manipulated (therapists, friends and some family members).