Spiderman – Have You Tried Using a Blow Torch?

I do not think I have ever enjoyed hearing a poem as much as I enjoyed listening to Mr. Coon read “Maybe Dat's Yowr Pwoblem Too” I thought it was witty, creative, imaginative and engaging, however; I do not agree with the notion that someone can not “buin der suit”.

What I struggle with in this poem are the lines where Spiderman does not follow his dream. While I agree that there are things people can not change, like their family, or their height, the majority of our life is in our control. I am and always have been a believer in the idea that for the most part, if you want to change and you have the right tools you can!

Spiderman explains that he wishes he could become a racecar driver to make his heart beat at a different rate. He complains about the monotonous routine of catching color t.v. slobs and delivering them to the police. So why then, why does he continue doing what makes him unhappy? The poem does not provide an answer and maybe that’s part of its goal, to make readers examine their lives and look at what it is that prevents them from doing what makes them happy.

I don’t want this blog entry to sound preachy nor do I want it to sound like some how I’ve figured this whole thing out, because I have not! I also do not intend to suggest that changing is something remotely simple. In fact, really rewiring your personal hardware is probably the most difficult thing for a person to do in life.


I can empathize with Spiderman’s situation. There was a point during junior year where I realized that my appearance, my “suit” not only did not match who I was but it was taking over who I was. A point where my suit was a burden emotionally and physically. I looked longingly at other suits that would make my heart beat at a different rate. The suit that I had had become too heavy for me, too tight. It was constricting and it didn’t fit. Because of it I couldn’t do the things that I really loved, like dance. My suit had become painful.

I have learned that yes, you can burn your suit. I took mine and burned it. There are many things I want to change about myself and I am intent on changing them! I don’t expect that tomorrow I will wake up a different person or that even in a year I will have morphed. Changing is in many cases a process.


Have you ever heard someone say that they had “found themselves”. Well one of my most favorite quotes is the following.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
- (unkown)

What I love about this quote is that it reminds me that there isn’t a mold for me that I have to go discover but rather I can be what ever I want to be. There is something wonderfully liberating, and exciting about this possibility.