The Greatest Hobbit of all Time: Mr. Bilbo Baggins by Rochelle

The Greatest Hobbit of all Time: Mr. Bilbo Baggins by Rochelle - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world” (Tolkien). Professor Tolkien was engendered a character that lived by the quote above. He was a both a Took and a Baggins, one who loved home and a sense of adventure. That character was Bilbo Baggins. He was undoubtedly with flaws but his courage, simplicity and the ability to remain humble has made him my favorite character of all time.

Mr. Bilbo began his “unexpected journey” when Gandalf the wizard approaches him to ask him to be the burglar of a potentially perilous quest. He is at first very reluctant knowing to embark on the quest. However later, he decides to join Gandalf and the dwarves, because it has long been his dream to go on adventure. Bilbo overcame his fear of leaving his warm, comfortable, safe home to go and live his dream. Bilbo is not the ultimate protagonist, in fact, he’s afraid of his own dream as I was. I am afraid to pursue a career in science because it requires extensive amounts of intellectual capacity and perhaps, adjustments in my ethics. But it has long been my dream to embark on a journey in science to live the joy of discovery. So, I must overcome my fear to live my dream. I do not have to be fearless; I simply have to learn to overcome it. For those who don’t sacrifice anything hardly ever achieves anything.

Further into Bilbo’s journey, he encounters a dragon known as Smaug. And being the burglar of the company, it was Bilbo’s job to find the weak spot in Smaug’s armor. And during his second encounter with Smaug Bilbo does find a weak spot and he also manages to survive. During his encounter with Smaug, Bilbo showed that taking the dragon too seriously probably would have gotten him killed. Instead, he fools Smaug by calling himself a “barrel rider” and other titles that are not his actual names. Had it been a dwarf or human, they would have been too serious about Smaug’s colossal being and fallen prey to him. Because of Bilbo’s simplicity and ability to take things not too seriously he survived.

I’ve had to face my own dragon in life. I would personify it as stress. Too often I am faced with a large work load that I have to bear through. And sometimes, I fear that I might end up sick if I continue to work enslaved to the stress. But, like Bilbo I do not sulk in the stress. I’ve learned to ignore the stress and hug my mom, or ignore the stress and dance a little, or even sing. Even life in itself can seem overwhelming and dangerous if taken too seriously.

After embarking on a journey that made Bilbo realize that he is a hero, Bilbo comes home. He saved the dwarves from the spiders of Mirkwood, he freed them from the cellars of the wood elves, he found the weakness of Smaug, and most importantly, he realized the hero within. And yet, he returns to small Shire, away from the troubles of the big world. And I think he returned because he never really forgot who he was. He never forgot the humbleness that made him who he truly is.

Every day, I get to be my own hero or the hero of someone else. Well, maybe my definition of a hero is too vast, but I've been a hero. I've healed broken hearts, given my meal away, sacrificed my time and effort. However, I believe to be true to myself is to be humble. Because, there is still so much that I don’t know and I don’t understand. I realize that I can be a hero, but I will not pretend to be one.
Too often, we forget why the children’s tales meant so much to us. We undervalue their presence and substance. Luckily, “The Hobbit” is not one I undervalued. I’ve always treasured the courage, simplicity and humbleness of Bilbo Baggins, and will always strive to be like him.

A note to Contributors,

I am Rochelle Ratnayake and I intend to pursue molecular biology and public health at Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana. In this manner, I can become a medical officer and work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I want to thank you in advance for considering me for scholarship. Whether I am chosen or not, I appreciate your time and contribution.

Thank you