Long before he became the instructor of the Scouts unit protecting humanity from the dangerous titans, Keith Shadis was cursed: Someone told him he was special. A chosen one. Part of the select few singled out by fate to accomplish great deeds.
For years, Keith drank the Kool-Aid. He left the safety of humanity’s walled garden. He killed titans with his own hands. He even led the Scouts unit for a time. But for all his desire and discontent with normalcy, eventually, life grew over Keith’s head. Every time his unit went out, fewer people returned. Meanwhile, another star was rising through the ranks — and in that guy’s corps, nobody died on missions.
One day, after yet another devastating return, Keith bursts out at a dear friend. All it takes is her calm reaction to finally make him see: “Is it really so important to be special? I think this goal is overrated.”
“Look at my son,” the young mother continues. “He’s so cute! It’s okay if he never becomes a powerful man. Or if he doesn’t surpass others. This boy is already special. After all, he was born into this world — and that’s a miracle.”
That day, Keith gave up his mantle. He passed it to the promising upstart and receded into obscurity. As a teacher behind the scenes, Keith eventually concluded: “Special people do exist. Unfortunately, I was not one of them. How could I never realize something so simple?”
Initially, Keith’s realization was saddening. But in time, it became liberating. There is nothing more freeing than feeling comfortable being a nobody.
As such a nobody, Keith taught wave after wave of new recruits. He saw every soldier come and go. Prodigies. Hopeless cases. Normal people like himself. And he gave them all an important lesson to take with them on their way: a reminder that life is not about being special, but about serving something larger than yourself.