“We'll start with the pretty pearls around the lady’s neck.”

She could not take them off in time and the street thug killed both her and her husband. Their son, eight years old, stood motionless as he watched his parents die. For the rest of his life, he felt guilty for their deaths. Seeing a bat fly through his window, Bruce Wayne would eventually take justice into his own hands using the bat as his symbol.

The comic book character Batman, and his alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, is my role model. After the death of his parents, he did all he could to compensate for his loss. He strove to be the best. His resourcefulness and charisma allowed him to become Gotham City’s wealthiest as well as its most eligible bachelor.

Who wouldn’t admire such resilience? I do. I too strive to be the best I can be. And, as arrogant as I may sound, people do take a liking to me. By studying psychology in order to understand and help the people around him, Bruce Wayne was able to achieve anything he wanted. I too would like to study psychology so that I will be just as successful myself.

However, Batman is the one who has taught me more about the fine line between right and wrong. Many people hated Batman, because he was vigilante crime fighter. Batman did not care what others thought of him. His rationality was that he was always right (granted, he usually was right).This can be a good and also a bad characteristic that I have learned not to share completely. I believe that I cannot stand by own convictions if I always need the consent of others. However, Batman’s arrogance made him a loner. From his experience, I have learned to compromise when necessary yet still hold onto my principles.

Bruce Wayne created a world for himself built on self-reliance. Batman tried to change the world as he saw fit. I have shaped my own character by taking lessons from Bruce Wayne’s success and learning from his alter-ego’s mistakes. I will use the lessons I have learned to become my own woman and to become a vigilante crime fighter.