The Symbol On My Chest

I wanted to write a blog today and I wasn't totally sure what to write. But then I remembered I wrote an essay there other day. So here is my substitution. Here you go, I hope you like it:

Truth, Justice, and the American Way are the three points that summarize what Superman, the Last Son of Krypton, stands for. Superman is a symbol of hope for humanity, a savior of the planet and protector of all. When there is a problem in Metropolis, the city in which he resides, the people look to Superman for safety. When there is an earthquake or villains are trying to take over the world, Superman is there to foil their plots. Superman is willing to give his life in order to save everyone on the planet. This “Man of Steel” is an icon for many young people and he sends a message to them, a message of truth and hope. As evidence of this, Superman merchandise is purchased and sold everywhere. There are websites dedicated solely to the sale of Superman products. It is in the world of merchandise that Superman and I met, this is where the connection between Superman and I come together and are forever bound.
At age five, I loved Superman. I remember the first time I was given money for my birthday, I went out and bought a Superman action figure. This was the first toy I ever bought with my own money and I still have it to this day. Around the same time, I received a present my from father’s younger brother, my Uncle John. He got me a Superman t-shirt. It was a rich royal blue t-shirt, the red and yellow of the “S” vividly screen printed on the front, the material reaching down to my shins, and the short sleeves stretched to my forearms. Little did I know that this single shirt would impact the rest of my life.
Most people have a favorite pair of jeans, some have a favorite hat, while others enjoy a bathrobe or slippers, for me my favorite clothing is my Superman shirt. This shirt and I have been through many times together. I don’t wear it for the fact that it is extremely comfortable or that I look good in it. This shirt symbolizes the transition from Clark Kent, to Superman for me. When I’m not wearing it, I am Clark Kent, the timid, shy, and potentially non-confident person. Bad things are able to happen to me and I wouldn’t be sure how to handle them and I potentially have the ability to get hurt. When I put on the “S,” nothing can hurt me, with the experiences I have been through to prove this. When the “S” is on my chest, I can be happy, relaxed, strong, and confident, just as if Superman himself had taken over my body. This shirt means a lot more to me than simple clothing on my skin.
The first memory I have while wearing this shirt took place in the backyard of the house I grew up in. My parents set up a sprinkler in the backyard for some occasion at which family members were over. We were jumping through the sprinkler and I wanted something to change in to while playing. I came across this shirt from my uncle, dangling down to my shins and decided to wear it outside. I pretended to fly through the sprinkler when jumping over it. As Superman, I was carefree and enjoyed life. This memory resides in the shirt and whenever I wear it, I remember the first experience we ever encountered together.
Around the time I was ten years old, I had a Superman birthday party. My father had a “Super Dad” shirt that he bought and wore for the occasion. I climbed up on a chair putting my arm at an angle to my waist, just as Superman stands and put the other around my father and we had a picture taken. This picture sits in a frame on my desk at home in my bedroom. It is this picture that is another part of the shirt. My father, my own personal Superman’s memory is embedded in this shirt forever thanks to that picture. Whenever I slide the shirt over my head, I think of my Dad and decide that I can and will be strong, just like he is.
Every summer since I was in the fourth grade, I have gone to a Methodist summer camp named Innabah. Coming back every year as a camper, I wished I were on staff. Finally, I was eighteen, was hired to be on staff, and became a counselor at Innabah. For our staff pictures, we are supposed to do something goofy so kids know who we are. I wore my Superman shirt and pretended I was ripping off a dress shirt changing from Clark Kent to the “Man of Steel” while coming out of the main building at camp. This picture shows more than just the fact that I love Superman. It shows the transition from me being Clark Kent, the camper, to Superman, the counselor. Taking the shirt off of its hanger, I look at it and think about the changes I’ve gone through and how I myself have changed as a person, just like I showed in that picture. Camp is the one place where I have never had a bad experience. So wearing this shirt, with its eternal connection to Innabah, makes me feel euphoric.
There has been one instance where my Superman shirt actually did protect me, made me invincible, and I utilized it. My friend Brad is a missionary with Campus Crusades for Christ who often works in Philadelphia. One day in my second semester of college, he asked me to go with him in to Philadelphia to teach Asian-Americans at a conference how to evangelize on the streets of Philly, then go out and actually do it with them. To date, this is the most terrifying experience I remember where I knew I would not be physically hurt, but I was still scared. I almost literally cried simply by how terrified I was. So when the day came to get picked up by Brad to go to Philadelphia, I decided that I could not be scared because I was going to share the love of God to countless people. Under my button down shirt, I wore my Superman one. On the outside I could feel scared and be like Clark Kent, but underneath at the core where it counted, I was Superman. The day went well. I was able to help the people in the conference, talk on the streets, and I was a confident Superman because I knew nothing would hurt me.
Superman is the Man of Steel, Earth’s Greatest Hope, the Last Son of Krypton, and my personal icon. Just as Superman was a symbol originally designed to give hope to those during the Great Depression in the early 1930s, Superman gives me hope. The creators of Superman were Jewish and used the influence of the Jewish hero Golem, a mythical creature created to protect and serve the persecuted Jews of 16th century, to bring a new Golem to modern day in America. In his comics Superman has combated Nazis, the KKK, and reflected Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” as a means to help Americans feel safe, strong and confident, just as wearing this shirt does for me. The shirt that now may be light blue, the sleeves only halfway down my biceps, the “S” ragged and coming apart, and have holes all throughout it, but this shirt is mine. It reminds me of the love I have from my family, my love for camp, pure happiness, my transition as a person, and that I can do anything without fear. This shirt to me is more than just one hundred percent cotton with blue dye; it is a memory in itself. It is my Superman shirt.