12th Musing--Characters I Admire (I)

Some posts, like this one, will be an analysis of characters I admire and why. It kinda segways into other topics to explore, but maybe not. I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say...

Character One: Tohru Honda! from Fruits Basket (manga)
Here she is!

MBTI type: INFP

To be honest, most of my friends hate her because they think she's a pushover, too nice, unrealistic, etc. While I agree that she can be too nice/generous at times and a doormat, there are key traits that make me love her. She is extremely compassionate, forgiving, caring, and trusting. She's not even overly trusting despite what everyone thinks. She has a healthy dose of caution.
I also love that she's not naturally talented, but she is very, very hard-working and that takes her far. Whether in work or with the people she cares about, she never complains about a task and gets right to work.
I have read through the whole manga twice and each time, I believe I've grown by emulating her example. I value hard work and I am more caring and generous towards people. Additionally, I am more forgiving because I know that everyone makes mistakes and most people truly do have good intentions or they did and lost sight of how they originally were. Tohru has taught me to believe in the goodness of others, which I wrote about on...perhaps my second post? I can't remember.
I think a good example is with, for those of you who know the manga, Hatori. She was told not to be left alone with him because he couldn't be trusted, so I was also quite wary of him. As we both freaked out when he called her down to talk to her about the whole situation relating to the plot that I won't explain because it'll take too long, her friend who was living with him (they were related) told her a story about his life that opened her heart to him, though she never would have heard it Hatori himself.
Another example is when she helped to emotionally heal the character that everyone hated. But that character was so terrible because she was facing so many problems of her own that no one else knew about, but expressed them in all the wrong ways.

So Tohru and the rest of the manga has really taught me much. That is why I say artists are perhaps some of the greatest benefactors of this world because they can affect people where it matters.