Martian Manhunter has the power to change his usual alien appearance to any human. Not a popular or typical superhero pick, but I guess that suits me.
During my high school days I felt like I had the power of Mr. Manhunter as I, in a way, would change myself to different forms. It was a constant struggle for me trying to find out what I valued most in my future. Would it be the money, or are my dreams worth pursuing?
Freshman year I wanted to be an engineer. Being in the engineering program became a big part of my identity at the time, and I heard that engineering careers made a lot of money. Spending endless time after school working on portfolios and the countless nights staying up late to do homework engulfed me. The workload and constant stress of my engineering classes caused me to shy away from the career.
I then changed my plan – and appearance – sophomore year to be an architect. It was a career that made good money but could also be my creative outlet. I felt pressured by teachers to continuously research more about the career I wanted, and slowly, after learning more about being an architect, I lost interest. I had this unrealistic dream of living in New York City, right in the middle of everything. But once I learned about a typical architect’s salary and the cost of living in NYC, the dream died.
Junior year I took multiple different forms. Taking AP psychology with Mr. Norman peaked my interest and made me consider being a psychiatrist. My parents started to persuade me to be a nurse just like my mom, and I considered it for a while, but that form faded away.
My final form started to morph during my junior to senior year summer break. I was able to partake in a summer program called School of Doc that allowed me to learn documentary filmmaking. Through this program my new form is born, my form to be a filmmaker. I used my skills in editing and filmmaking and incorporated that into making my own short film, ‘Rio’ on youtube and I am now continuing in my path, in my form, to become a filmmaker.
