Who Would You Meet?

By Josh Baker on July 18, 2019

Everyone has wanted to meet at least one person from both history and the world of fiction, and for good reasons. Whether it be to learn from them, talk with them, or travel with them, we have all wondered what it would be like to visit someone from either history or fiction.

I reached out to a few friends and family members, and it turns out most of them prefer to visit people that they admire. I can certainly say that the responses were not disappointing.

via Pixabay

My mother Laura is a big fanatic of Mount Everest (though she would never scale it herself), so she would want to meet Sir Edmund Hilary, the first person to ascend it. “I would love to just let him reminisce about the climb and all the little details that went into it.” She has also grown up with some of fiction’s most lovable characters, as well as many of today’s favorite characters. “At first I thought of Grover from Sesame Street, furry and blue and always happy (and his alter ego Super Grover is cool too), then I thought about Jim & Pam from The Office; how is living in Philly going, did they have any more kids? But then I found my final answer; Elaine Benes from Seinfeld. We would be great together, making fun of people and laughing all the time. We would definitely be BFFs.” That was not very surprising, considering how I see a lot of Elaine Benes in my mom.

For me personally, there are many reasons why I would want to meet a fictional character. Perhaps I want to meet a villain or an annoying character so that I could prevent them from becoming established. Perhaps I want to meet a hero who dies so that I could find a way to save them. Or maybe I want to meet a hero because I just want to spend time with them. My fictional character would probably have to be either Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars or Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Obi-Wan is an amazing mentor and warrior (I have always wanted to learn how to fight like a Jedi), and Hermione was the first friend character I ever encountered that I wanted as my own friend. In fact, she is probably one of the most capable characters in all of fiction.

My roommate Justin would want to meet C-3PO from the Star Wars franchise, partially to mess with him, but mostly because he believes the two of them would “get along splendidly.” C-3PO is one of my favorite Star Wars characters, but until now, I had never considered how entertaining it would be to mess with him.

My friend Nile, who is a big fan of anime, said, “Asta from the anime Black Clover. He is a character who dreams big and never gives up, so I would like to see if he helps me find even a third of his motivation.”

The varying reasons for visiting a fictional character go for historical figures as well. Would I want to meet someone in order to change history, or just because I admire them greatly? If I had to choose, I would probably have to choose someone from history that I admire, rather than someone infamously cruel (the repercussions of time travel are too risky).

My cousin Taylor said she would want to meet Queen Elizabeth the First. “I am obsessed with the craziness that was Henry the 8th, so it would be pretty cool to meet his daughter who was a pretty badass queen.”

My friend Nile said he would meet the late, great Stan Lee. “One of my greatest regrets is that I never got to meet one of the most inspiring creative figures in the media.”

Isabelle, who is one of the biggest history buffs I know, said “Marie Curie and Georgia O’Keeffe. Marie Curie because of her contribution to science as we know it and being brave enough to do what was seen as a man’s task. Georgia O’Keeffe because of her incredible art and perseverance. Also Erin Brockovich. She was a badass and so smart and able to make real change happen.”

I have loved sports, particularly baseball and football, my entire life, and those two sports have no shortage of legends. My favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees, alone, have an abundance of some of the greatest athletes of all time, such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle, but I also have a particular fascination with Ted Williams, arguably the greatest slugger in baseball history. I may not like the Red Sox, but I at least respect them, and any legend would be fun to meet.

It is always intriguing to consider who would you visit from history and/or fiction and why, and from what I have gathered, it is usually for harmless reasons. If only visiting these people was actually doable!

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