My name is Joe Blow; I live in the beautiful Spanish speaking country of Spain. I have everything I could ever need here in Spain. I have planted my roots here, from my culture to my childhood and most recently my adulthood. I can’t possibly imagine living somewhere else. I have everything a guy like me could ever need. When I say “A guy like me,” this is relating to the fact that I’m a superhero. Whatever classifies me as a superhero well I’m not too sure. Sure I’m strong, and I’m getting all of the chicks for sure. “Super man has nothing on me!” I just don’t quite feel as if I deserve the title of being a super hero. Now I’ll tell you how it all started.

When I was around the mature age of six, Melman (the best Giraffe friend a guy could ever ask for) and I went fishing in an enormous pond that happened to be right around the corner of my very own cottage. Melman and I would spend hours at that pond; it became our signature place, our hide out, our place of Zhen. One day when Melman and I were fishing, my foot slipped off of a slippery hollow log that reached from end to end of the fifty foot pond. I fell straight into the water, with eyes wide open, when suddenly a man-eating giant fish started to unclench his jaw with his mouth wide open coming towards me.

“Melman! Melman! Please help!”
I yelled for Melman at the top of my lungs. Since Melman was a Giraffe, he extended his long snake like neck out towards me. I clutched his neck and slowly he pulled me up out of the water. Ever since that moment I have been so utterly terrified of any type of fish. I know it sounds quite silly but this is how it has been since that dreadful moment. Although I don’t know what I would have done if it were not for
Melman, because he saved my life that day.

In junior high I remember getting a puffer fish from my grandma; it was a souvenir from the Caribbean. I absolutely hated it. I ran to my bedroom and cried for hours until my mother came into my bedroom to see what was wrong.

“Joey, what is wrong?” said my mother.

“It’s nothing mom, I just really don’t like fish, in fact they kind of terrify me.”

“Well my little Joey, we all have fears in our life but there comes a point where we have to face our fears in order to grow in our lives.”

“I totally understand that, but when you almost get eaten by some man eating fish, come to me and then tell me how you feel, okay, mom?”

“It is all up to you Joey, now go apologize to your grandmother. It was a very thoughtful gift.”

I didn’t want to accept the gift, but it was that or I would forever be condemned by my mother. So I accepted the little ugly fat fishy thing, with a nefarious heart. I placed the fish on the top of my bookshelf and flung a blanket over the top of the fish bowl so that I would not have to see it. That fish lasted only a short week and a half; I don’t believe I even gave the fish an actual name.

High school was shortly around the corner. Not only did I still acquire the fear of fish, but that fear also intensified. The high school I attended for four long dreadful years was Los Pescados home of the fish. During high school I was one hundred percent concentrated on becoming a world renowned super hero. I didn’t know how I would do it but I knew it would happen, as long as there were no fish involved.

Shortly after high school Melman and I were sent on a mission to save a princess with outstandingly long hair from her castle which happened to be surrounded by large man eating fish. Of course I couldn’t say no, because it is my duty as a superhero to save the world no matter what. But seriously she had to be surrounded by man eating fish? At that moment I felt like the world was going to end. I was overwhelmed with terror that I would be eaten by a man eating fish. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to overcome this fear; thank goodness Melman was here by my side.

The next day Melman and I began our five hour journey to the princess. First we went through the one hundred acre forest, saw our friends Piglet and Pooh bear, then we went through the haunted meadow where Harry Potter and his friends lurk, which was also where Melman and I stopped to have some snail. Although Melman started hitting on Hermione, but with a flick of her wand Melman definitely wouldn’t try hitting on her ever again. After our lovely confrontation with the Gryffindor clan we were on our way to Princess Peach.

When we finally arrived at Bowser’s castle we were feeling pretty confident, until I saw the jumping man -eating fish that were underneath the bridge. I started hyperventilating just a little bit, so I turned to the one thing that could always calm me down. Coldplay, any Coldplay song could do the trick, especially Good Life. That song always has a way of calming me down throughout any situation.

After pressing repeat a few times I was over the bridge and to the princess within seconds. As she threw down her astoundingly long hair, I climbed up and together we escaped the wrath of Bowser. I felt proud because I had finally faced the one fear that was holding me back again. On our way back we had to cross the bridge once more. I feared that the man-eating fish would pop back up, but they didn’t. I was invincible and nothing could stand in my way. Not even a man-eating fish. So one question remains, did that really make me a super hero? Yes, I faced my fears and also saved a lonely princess from some Super Mario character, but I still don’t feel like I’m superhero material. I guess that’s for everyone else to decide.