From: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Television and Cartoons
Who said it?: General Iroh
The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a cartoon series that aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The story follows the adventures of Aang, the titular “last airbender,” to learn how to control, or “bend,” the four primal elements of air, water, earth and fire in order to become the Avatar, the guardian of the world.
The quote comes from the second season episode entitled “Avatar Day.” In the episode, Zuko (voiced by Dante Basco) had started stealing food after he and his uncle, Iroh (voiced by the lake Mak0), have gone into hiding in the wilderness. Zuko claims the situation they’re in will get better if the manage to capture the Avatar. However, Iroh doesn’t believe this to be the case. Zuko starts to feel depressed because, if this is the case, then their situation is hopeless. This is when Iroh tells him to never give in to despair and delivers the quote.
Geek wisdom: Hope is something that isn’t given by others to you. Hope is something you have to give yourself. It’s up to you to believe in yourself and to believe you can do better. While some may try to uplift you, the decision to make a better life for yourself is always going to be up to you.
My Geek Wisdom 