Terra is not the DID some people make her out to be

Ok, here is my defense of Terra's character. Terra is a very strong, well developed character, but sadly, many people tend to brush her off as a typical damsel in distress, in the same line of character as Nintendo's Princess Toadstool or Disney's Cinderella. This does Terra a great disservice, and the gamer as well, because Terra is a truly inspirational figure. For starters, Terra is an asset to the team on the battlefield and in the magic department as well. Also, for a supposed weak character, she is the primary focus of the first half of the game. A few gamers have said "Well, you always have to rescue her!"Well,from what I recall, Terra had to be rescued twice, in the mines, and in Zozo. I may also point out, Celes, whom many FF6 fans point out as "the strong woman" in the game ALSO needs rescuing THREE times(when you first get her,in the Opera, and in the ending) and is also far more impulsive with her emotional reactions than Terra. Yet she seems to be considered "the strong one" simply because she is a general. But almost everyone in the game needing some sort of rescuing at some point: Relm from a raging fire, Cyan from his own past, Shadow in the cave in the World of Ruin, Mog from Lone Wolf, and did Locke from the Phoenix Cave. That is what I love most about FF6-is that the weaknesses of everyone are highlighted, not simply the weaknesses of one(often female) character *cough FF8, Legend of Zelda series, Super Mario Brothers!* As for Terra being called a wimp because she said she was scared on the first half of the game, well, I guess we're all wimps then, because haven't we all been scared at some point or another? Being scared in and of itself does not make one a wimp, it is letting fear paralyze oneself that is the bad thing. Terra could have chosen to live her life terrified and let her past eat her up, as Cyan almost did. But she did not-she chose to join the Returners, and, as she did, she made friends, fought a common enemy, and accomplished her goal-finding out what love was. Even though she lost her fighting edge temporarily, she gained it back to protect the children, which had become her family. Because of all this, I consider Terra to be inspirational. I mean, she was robbed of a normal life for YEARS, then she escaped PURELY BY ACCIDENT, but finally got to experience the joys of friendship, and, despite the hard hand life through her, she discovered love and has a new family now, even though her parents are dead and her initial love interest is looking elsewhere! So Terra is not a weak Cinderella like figure, but in fact, a true hero.