“…. But he always wore Superman. And I looked up to him because he was my superhero, but since he did not act like it, I try to. I try to help people to the best of my ability, give everyone hope that everything will be okay, and I will try my best to protect them and help them succeed.” – Quentin Shaffer
Parents. They are our shoulder to cry on, our source of smiles (besides kittens and puppies), where we gather our wisdom, our best friends, and among other things they are most importantly our life givers. From birth, we are told that we look similar to our parents and that we will grow up like them. We are also given the nicknames of either “momma’s boy” or “daddy’s girl”. As we grow up our parents and mine, in particular, taught me things such as honesty, truth, compassion, kindness, and how to care for people. They also encouraged me to take risks, to boldly go. They taught me that the greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure.
As we know mistakes are a part of life, everyone makes them, everyone regrets them. But, some learn from them and some end up making them again. It’s up to you if you will use your mistakes to your advantage. Once when I was younger, The struggle is real. grade to be exact, I had plans to stay over at my dad’s house. Before I continue, this is where the quote in the first paragraph comes into play because my dad was my superhero and as it states above he always wore Superman so I always thought he stood for hope and that he would help others – that he was a perfect dad. This is the story of why I wear Superman.
(Warning: tears may be shed and what is about to be said I have only told a few people and I feel that it’s time for others to know. He is now a changed man and has not done anything since this incident. To protect everyone in this paper, I will leave some things out or substitute things here and there).
Once when I was younger, seventh grade to be exact, I had plans to stay over at my dad’s house. The first Transformers movie had come out on DVD and we had planned to watch it together. Seems like a good night right? My step-mom – who isn’t actually my step-mom anymore, if you want to know, ask me – went with us to a sportsman club in town close to where my dad lives. We were sort of regulars there on Fridays. I decided to get my usual chicken fingers and nestle can of regular iced tea. We got in and did the 50/50 drawing that we normally did and then we sat down in the back by the TV, a rerun of a CSI episode was playing. Once I ordered my chicken fingers and everyone else had ordered their regular food we sat and talked about life. Still seems like a good night right? Our food came and I began munching down on the chicken-y goodness that was chicken fingers and followed it up with the ice cold iced tea. I was sitting beside my dad and my step-mom across from us. About 15 minutes into eating some police officers had come into the establishment where we were eating and at first I did not really think anything of it; however, as they got closer to our table I felt my stomach turn into butterflies.
The officers came over and asked my dad if it was who they were looking for. He replied yes and cooperated in trying to help. Just then, they asked him to stand up and put the cold handcuffs around his wrists and stated everything that needed to be stated. While the tears were streaming down my face and the shock beginning to set in, I heard him say among other things “I love you.” and he gave me a kiss on the head as they took him away. I sat there in shock for what seemed like forever but then was taken by my stepmom into the hallway where the bathrooms were to try to calm me down. The staff came over and asked us if there was anything they could do and they even boxed up my unfinished chicken fingers for me. After I had calmed down, we went and retrieved my sleepover bag and I had asked if we could still watch the Transformers movie, my step-mom replied yes and the car ride home was silent except for the radio. When we returned to her house, we watched the movie. As I was getting ready for bed, the phone rang. My dad had used his one phone call to talk to me but instead I refused and he continued to talk to my stepmom until his time was up. Months went by and I would receive letters from him with Penn State articles in the paper and other things. After that day, I try to not be like him. I try to be my own Superman since he did not act like it. I try to help people to the best of my ability, give everyone hope that everything will be okay, and I will try my best to protect them and help them succeed.
As we know mistakes are a part of life, everyone makes them, everyone regrets them. But, some learn from them and some end up making them again. It’s up to you if you will use your mistakes to your advantage. I, along with Superman, make mistakes that we regret making and in my time on Earth I have learned to accept them and use them to help me become a better human being and to continue to help people as best as I can. As the great Christopher Reeves once said, “I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” To those who read this, always remember that no matter what happens you can change the world and leave a positive impact on the world. No matter your past or what has happened to you personally in your life to make you who you are, you are able to change the world and as long as you impact people’s lives in a good way and help them become better men and women, give them confidence to strive for success, make them feel better about themselves instead of being down about being made fun of. Help them become better people and help them pass it on to others. Be your own superhero.
