Kindergarten was an interesting adjustment for me. I remember recognizing the same faces that I had shared a classroom with at the Learning Tree preschool, and I remember my mother dressing me in knee high socks and the cutest little schoolgirl outfit so we could take “first day” pictures out in the backyard.
Throughout most of my elementary school career, I struggled with the fact that I had a very different knowledge base than most of my friends did. It was difficult to find a 7-year-old girl who could name all of the Mortal Kombat characters — but I could. I really could. You see, I grew up with two big brothers, and male cousins, all of whom I was extremely close to. There was only one other female cousin in my family and, for a nice chunk of my young life, she lived in Florida far away from me.
You see, I grew up surrounded by boys, and because of that, I spent hours watching them play basketball in the street or wiffle-ball behind the elementary school. I spent hours watching them play PS2 video games like “Sly Cooper” and “Ratchet & Clank.” I was one of the youngest and only girls at the “Batman Begins” premiere and I cried when the series ended. I was the only female in the movie theater (aside from my mother) to see “Transformers.”
My brothers and cousins taught me to be tough, but they also taught me that they would always be there when I needed them. They taught me to take care of myself and never let anyone walk all over you, and they taught me that things will get better. And I thank them for that.
Today, I am the girl who goes with her boyfriend and his friends to see superhero movies, and can hold my own in a knowledge debate. I am the girl who gets excited over trailer releases for video games I will never play (I never played, I only watched) and I am the girl who has multiple different superhero aliases.
My dad was my superhero and my brothers were my allies (most of the time) and, although I can come off as a tomboy/nerd, a lot of other females my age don’t really get it. I don’t care. I wouldn’t trade my childhood, the fights, the scrapes and bruises, the dirty clothes and skinned knees for anything, because it has played a monumental role into the woman, sister, daughter and girlfriend I currently I am today. I would never let it go.
I was taught that anybody could be a superhero if they just really tried (and had a super cool ally like Alfred or something).