Disclaimer: I am specifically talking about Isabelle Lightwood in "The Mortal Instruments" novels, not the "Shadowhunters" TV show on Freeform.

I was in 8th grade when I first started reading "The Mortal Instruments" series. I was 13 and still in the middle of the “Twilight” craze that was going on around that time— so, I know for a fact that I didn’t appreciate the characters as much as I could have.

That was until a later that year when I finished “Breaking Dawn” and realized that, maybe, just maybe, Bella Swan was not the type of character I wanted to look up to.

So, I reread the "Mortal Instruments" series since the last book was coming out in a few weeks had just finished a series that took up a good portion of my life and needed a new obsession, so it made sense.

As I was rereading, I fell in love with Isabelle Lightwood. And I was ashamed that I had not noticed her earlier. She was funny and smart and snarky.

She was a woman but that didn’t stop her from being at the front of every battle. She fought for who she loved with a passion I had yet to see in a character that wasn’t male and wasn’t fighting for his love interest. She was seen and spoke of throughout the novel as second only to one other character, and that character was experimented on with angel blood, so they may have had a bit of an advantage.

She may have dressed provocatively, but it wasn’t to please other people. She liked it— she was comfortable with her body and no one “slut shamed” her for dressing the way she decided to.

Regardless of how she dressed though, she was almost always wearing “normal” battle attire when it was needed. Sure, there were moments when she couldn’t change so she would walk into a fight wearing a dress, but it wasn’t over commented on, and she wasn’t oversexualized for it.

While there was contention among the characters through most of the first and second novel, Isabelle was there to smooth things out. She stood up for her brothers and kept their secrets when needed. She never tried to burn bridges and if there was a rift but instead she was always trying to fix it.

The best part, to me, though, was that even though she was a female, no one was undermining her. Her brothers were constantly listening to her. There was never any doubt that Isabelle knew what she was talking about, and while she may have gotten things wrong she was never undermined for it.

Isabelle had her flaws. She made mistakes and spoke without thinking at points, and she instigated fights that didn’t need instigating. But she was still so… real.

She was a multifaceted female character and after reading about Bella for four books— getting to see from Isabelle’s perspective and getting to know her was a blessing I was not expecting.

Even now, when I'm a 22-year-old, sort of adult who's trying to navigate the world, Isabelle Lightwood is still such an inspiration to me.

Now, I will admit— I don’t necessarily connect with Isabelle. Her and I are very different people, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t admire her. I recognize the fact that it was Cassandra Clare who brought Isabelle to life and it's Isabelle who I have to thank.

So, thank you, Isabelle Lightwood.

Thank you, for metaphorically holding my hand while gently and patiently leading me out of the “Twilight” craze. Thank you for being snide and kick ass while remaining to be one of the most passionate and caring characters in the novel.

Thank you for using your femininity to your advantage but still being so much more than just your body. Thank you for proving that female characters can be gorgeous, fashionable and sexy— and still be strong.

And most importantly, thank you, for showing hundreds of thousands of other young girls that they can be the same way.