By Gabe Cheng
AsAmNews Contributor
I first learned about Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” in a college screenwriting class.
Campbell’s monomyth, as it’s also called, is a framework found in both ancient myths and
modern movies. At the beginning of the journey the hero experiences an exciting event that
disrupts the status quo. The event seemingly compels the hero to act, but instead they do
nothing and refuse the call to adventure.
But why? I thought. What kind of person would rather stay in their boring lives than go on an
adventure? As it turned out, I was that kind of person.
I bet a lot of other first generation children from Asian American families can remember their first
“something to fall back on” conversation. Mine was in middle school when I was first showing an
interest in writing and media as a potential career. I was in the car with my father and he said,
“you know, after college you could go to film school and law school. Just so you always have
that law degree to fall back on.”
My family was dogmatically risk averse, and it’s understandable. Most immigrant parents want
safety and security for their kids. And for their generation, risk elimination was the prevailing
approach to child rearing, which explains all of the participating trophies and ribbons I had
growing up. I carried this attitude into adulthood and doggedly pursued a life of security, even at
the expense of my happiness. I eschewed writing and media and chose a safe career as a high
school teacher. For years I even clung to a crappy job with a narcissistic boss because I was
too scared to quit. I was miserable.
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Because real life isn’t like the movies I never got a call to adventure. Or maybe I did and was too
fearful to notice. But there’s another stage in Campbell’s framework called “crossing the
threshold.” This is when the hero, emboldened with new knowledge, reneges on their initial
refusal and takes a willful first step on the journey.
I knew I was unhappy but crossing the threshold wasn’t easy. I’d lived my whole life on the safe
path so when I started taking risks I did it gradually. I changed careers, moved cities and
launched a Kickstarter campaign for my first webcomic. This was my first attempt at becoming a
comic book writer and by far my biggest risk. I thought for sure it would fail.
But my friends and family came out in full support. My mother relentlessly called, texted and
emailed all of my relatives pushing them to back the project. Three weeks into the campaign I
was fully funded and six weeks after that my webcomic For Molly started publishing.
All those years ago my family thought that a graduate degree (or two) were the best security for
their children. But really all the security I needed was their love and support. Without that, and
the support of my closest friends, I wouldn’t be taking the first steps in my journey. I know that
real life isn’t like the movies because I never got my call to adventure, but I do have heroes.
Please check out Gabe’s webcomic For Molly at http://formollycomic.com/ or listen to his Futurama fan podcast Another Lousy Millennium at https://www.almpod.com/
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