The fictional heroes who have helped shape our next leaders

If Greta Thunberg taught us anything, it’s that teenagers have plenty to say about the world they’re inheriting. In next month’s Teen Gala being staged by the Wheeler Centre, we’ll hear from some of our own bright young voices in an afternoon of storytelling and readings. The Wheeler Centre’s youth program manager, Bec Kavanagh, says it’s a chance for “the grown-ups” to keep quiet and listen. Controversially, the fictional character I most admire is Jake the Dog from Adventure Time, which seems contradictory, given he’s hypothetically a “hero”. But he’s also immature, impulsive, and lots of the time, kind of an idiot.

“Every event I put together for the Wheeler Centre’s youth program leaves me blown away by the care, creativity and intellect of the teens we have on stage,” says Kavanagh. “Our end of year Teen Gala brings together some of Victoria’s best and brightest young voices in an evening of storytelling, poetry, oration and more.

He’s a yellow cartoon dog with the power of stretchiness and a love of violence, which is not necessarily something I aspire to be (not to suggest I wouldn’t want to be a stretchy dog), but I still admire his commitment to changing (not just his shape, haha).