Reflection #9: Regular Joe Hero

                If I was a regular Joe type of Superhero, like the ones in the Superheroes documentary ,I would be one that help my city by feeding the homeless or helping those who just need a helping hand. I would not be the type that fights crime in my city because I believe that would just be suicide and I personally want to live. My hero self would most identity with Life because just like Life I want to help the community but I am not looking to fight crime and risk my own life.

Life inspires people  to help each other out and to actually care about one another. Since my  superheroes self is similar to Life the type of equipment I would hold would beneficial to others. This equipment includes: first aid, food, water, covers, any basic things that are need to survive  and a van to hold all this stuff. My costume would be constructed out of regular things. I would wear jeans that have many pockets so that I can carry medical items, a book bag so that I can carry some of the food and water from my van and a regular t-shirt that has a plus sign. The plus sign would stands for the universal hospital sign and that I am here to administer aid . I would not wear a mask simply because I  would not fear for my life and anywhere I would go I would like people to recognize me. By allowing people to recognize me I let them know that I am always my superhero self.  

Morals and Mutation

                I have never experienced a time when my core belief was challenged or questioned.  If one of my core belief were to ever be challenged it would be my belief in never stealing. The only way I could ever see myself stealing would be to helped my family. If my mother or anyone that was very close to me became very ill and there was absolutely no way I could help them finically I could see my stealing. I would not steal from a bank like a normal bank robber or steal from those around me. I would lie about assets I had to the bank and do my best to get loans I know I could never pay off, which is essentially in my mind stealing.    

                I am ask to write about two different experiences as a mutant. One experience is of the mutant that has power but can passes as a regular human. The other is of one that cannot pass because of external quality that makes him stand out.  As a mutant that can pass I can see myself walking through life normally. I would have no real concerns accept for the concealment of my powers. As a mutant with quality that don’t allow me to pass, like the aesthetic look of Nightcrawler, I could see myself hiding  and rarely going out unless at night.  What both these experiences might share in common is that they are both hiding their powers  but one group has to work harder at it.

                X-men comics, TV shows, and films could help groups and individuals understand themselves by informing them that it’s okay to be different and that there are groups in society that can help them live a more fulfilling life. The mutant group which I mostly identify with is the one that passes and no I would not want the cured . The reason I say this is because most of my life I have pass as white when in actually I am mix with Taino, Black and Hispanic blood.  Since I can pass I get treated differently by whites and other races. I am trusted more, allowed more freedoms, and can live a pretty much stress free life. Most of my friends that have similar mixes of races but cannot pass don’t share similar experiences to my own. Those friends that can’t pass are harassed by cops and often not trusted.   

Silent Meditation and Friendship

We were told this week to try two different types of meditation, both of  which I would  consider doing again. The first type of meditation I decided to tried out was Silent Meditation.  After each and every session of Silent Meditation I would experienced a sense of calmness. This calmness allowed me to feel stress free for the majority of the day.     

After trying Silent Meditation I went on to try Superhero Brain Meditation for three days. The results of this type of meditation actually made me a little more confident. By imagining the superhero I both admired and wanted to be, I was able to show more confidence when I was approached with a new task. One of the tasks I was given was to clean all the windows in my house because my mom was going to host a party and she wanted all the windows cleaned. As I was cleaning these windows I realized that lines were being left on them. This made me mad, but then I decided to take a few quick breaths and went back to my meditation to think about what would Tony Stark do. Now without a doubt Tony would never worry about cleaning windows, and surely if he needed clean windows he would just hire someone; but what if he did not have someone  to clean these windows and had no idea how to prevent these lines. I came to the conclusion that he would do some research and go on the internet. Once I started doing research, I discovered that one could used coffee filters to wipe the windows and prevent lines from forming. My mom was so pleased with the results that she made me clean the windows up stairs and even the mirrors (how lucky was I).

Though out my life, I have had many friends and many who even achieved the level of best friend, but now looking back and looking at my present self I am highly uncertain I have ever had a friendship that would be characterized as a perfect friendship. All my friendships have either been one of utility and/or pleasure.  I cannot say that any of my current friendships can ever ascend to the level of a perfect friendship. The reasons for this is because either they are of another class then myself and are always taking care of me or that we don’t share the same values as one another. It is still my hope that one day I do meet someone who we both can reach the level of perfect friendship together.  

Reflection #6

            I will be the first to say it, I don’t think I am the most creative person out there. I am not a writer, a poet, or a really good artist. My creative ideas don’t flow out of my mind by the minute but the time that they do is when a situation or a problem are put forth on me.  As a child I was very introverted so I rarely voiced my opinion or spoke to others, but the benefit of this introverted-ness was that I had a lot of time to think and imagine. While others at age nine were playing games and being social, I thought about the meaning of life. This deeper thought  process helped me to understand the world around me and see patterns in people without even talking to them. By understanding people and their patterns I was able to see connections and by observing these connections I was able to help others. I cannot think of a particular example of when this happened but my family would describe me as a very helpful and creative individual.

In my adult life, I have been great at problem solving in all my classes, but recently not in a class I found myself working at my fullest. The time when I found myself working at my fullest was during my preparation for Moot Court. After reading each case I found myself debating why each case was wrong and what were the good points about them. I tried to use only the good points in my argument but with the bad ones I learned to argue around them. This took a lot of creativity and forced me to think outside of the box.

One superhero that is very creative is Tony Stark. Tony is captured by a terrorist group in the first Ironman movie. After he is captured he lies to the leader and told him he will build a weapon for him. Instead he builds his first Ironman suit and decimates the terrorist group. If that is not thinking on your feet then I don’t know what is!