Recently, I was browsing through my old college essays and stumbled on this story. Honestly, this was probably my favorite college application essay to write. The topic was “What superpower would you have?”. However, it seemed too boring to simply discuss a superpower, so I instead made it into a story. I think it has more life that way!

Water swirled around my body in vicious, rampant torrents, catching my breath and throwing it away from me while I struggled to form that picture in my mind once more. Once solidified, that picture became reality and my body spontaneously recreated itself in that image, in this case, a sleek, robust Siberian tiger whose muscles rippled underneath her pelt as she ascended onto the rocky shore. Fearful human eyes now stared into verdant green slit pupils that glared dangerously and almost seemed to glow in the pale light of dusk. Infuriated by their actions, I released a resounding roar that resonated throughout the river valley. As the scoundrels scurried away, I padded towards a minute group of people whose eyes reflected the typical mixture of wonder, fear, and perhaps a little gratitude. Gratitude was something I no longer expected, but sometimes I wish the fear would not be present. My objective was to save people, to make them feel better, but sometimes it seemed as if I just aroused more fear. “Shape shifters”, the name commonly used to describe my kind, are those that are able to literally shift their shape into other living creatures. Wary eyes watched as razor claws were replaced by pale hands that reached towards them in an effort to aid them. The tension built steadily at the confrontation of the outstretched hands and eyes full of suspicion.

“You’re a tiger?! That’s awesome!” cried the children, startling both parties away from their stances. The adults tried in vain to stop them, but the puppies scurried away to admire their newfound item of curiosity. I was then bombarded by shrill, high-pitched voices asking various questions of me, but only truly heard a small voice in the back saying “Thank you”. My face softened at the comment, making me recall the reason I endeavored to use my unusual abilities to save others. Early on I realized that being a “hero” was not like the stories written in colorful comic books, or the movies where the hero always wins and saves the day. The most difficult lesson is a simple one; sometimes you fail. It’s not possible to save everyone and it never will be. Some don’t even want to be saved, to instead wallow in darkness even though the light switch is in front of them. But, as the “hero”, you take the blame for the deaths of those you cannot save, even if nothing could be done to save them. My philosophy will be as it always has been. I will use my power to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and try to save as many as I can from their sufferings, to be a light that they can reach for in the darkness. My light might not reach all, but it will make a difference to those who see it and I can ask for nothing more.