Nobody's Coming To Save You. Your Life Is 100% Your Responsibility.

"You can't trust other people. If it's important, you have to do it yourself." ― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

I grew up leaving the saving of myself to others.

My mom would save me from my dad. My dad would save me from my mom. My grandparents would save me from them both. Friends would save me from bullies. God would save my soul.

One by one, over the years, their faces became more human as they lost that luster of infallibility. They loved me in the best ways they could, but love is a buffer, not a fortress.

My path to adulthood was littered with the little disappointments of those I put up on pedestals falling off, failing to save the day, sometimes failing to even show up. But it was also full of the kind of immense joy and terrifying freedom that came with discovering that the only one who would ever answer my Bat-Signal every time was me.

I didn't need superheroes once I realized that my own heart held a whole universe of heroics.

I don't need Superman when all I have to do is close my eyes and spread the wings of my world around me as I leap from the tallest buildings.

I don't need Thor when my fists are their own hammers, and I can summon a storm with my words.

I don't need Hulk when destruction is coded into my DNA, called into existence by the darkness that sometimes sits with me, within me.

I don't need Spider-Man because I'm no Mary Jane and I was born knowing how to weave the kind of webs that hold me up, the way we all are.

I don't need Wolverine when I'm stronger than even Adamantium, and my claws come out like the end of the world when I need the courage.

I don't even need Wonder Woman, because I refuse to be invisible or let the bracelets of my spirit be broken, or waste my lasso of truth on the breath of liars.

All of us come into the world with superpowers only we can access and contain. Don't waste time being Lois Lane. Jump off that balcony and soar.