Origins, Name, and Purpose of this Substack

An introduction...

Exactly two years ago, possibly to the time, I came home for Christmas Break. I had just been out watching Avatar: The Way of Water with my mother and brother. I walked into my room, opened my laptop, and checked my email. What I was about to see would change my life forever.

Sender: The University of Miami.

I opened the email excitedly. Was it my acceptance letter? No, it couldn’t be— I had applied early action, not early decision, and I wasn’t supposed to get my notification until the end of January. But still, this was news, and news from a university in my dream city that held the key to my dream career.

I read:

“Dear Sophia [Krampus],

Congratulations! You have been accepted for consideration for the Isaac Bashevis Singer scholarship, which will cover the full cost of tuition at the University of Miami for a duration of four years. In order to be considered for this scholarship, you must compose an essay in response to the following prompt in 250 words or fewer and submit it no later than January 3rd, 2023.”

Bring it on, I thought. I read the prompt.

“Prominent antagonists in fictional works are often in positions of power despite their obvious flaws. Identify one of these antagonists and explain what makes them an effective leader.”

Wait, what? I thought. Are they asking me to basically… defend a bad guy from a work of fiction? But I can’t do that, and why… why would they even ask me that?

Unfortunately, these questions would continue to linger, even after I had written my essay, edited it, submitted it, gotten my scholarship, and committed to the University of Miami. After all, if I found this prompt so offputting, it must be because it had hit close to home, right? But over time, I began to appreciate the merit of seeking to understand others’ actions, even if I fundamentally disagreed with them. And whereas this trait may have developed in me as a coping mechanism against circumstances I faced, I could now fight back against those same circumstances armed with new knowledge of how this condition, which I affectionately refer to as a syndrome, works. And so, on the second anniversary of being introduced to this essay prompt, I introduce this Substack, which will examine the question of why fictional and historical bad guys are sometimes good leaders, why this matters, how this can be analyzed, and how understanding this can empower us to fight back and discern morally on our own journeys through life.

Thanks for coming along with me,

Sophia