Ladies and gentleman I (The Excellence of Editorials, Beloved CBM.com DCGUY) present to you one of the most smart and well grounded cbm.com users as well as not only one of the first friends I made on this site but one of the first friends that carried over onto outside of the site, he is the AWESOME Neihofft and this is his story...Enjoy!
So I was asked to talk about how comicbooks and super heroes have influenced and changed my life. They have certainly played an interesting role, and it is a bit of a strange story exactly how I got into all of it.
I grew up on Batman and Spider-Man TAS. They were always my favorite and I always thought they were really cool. Nothing more than that, I was young, it was simple; super heroes were awesome. I got really into the Jusice League and JLU shows. They were always what I looked forward to every Friday night on Toonami. That series was just absolutely magic to me. It never even occured to me to get into comics, I just grew up on super hero lore. The shows, the movies, the toys. To be honest I found it "geeky" or "nerdy" to read comics. Boy was I [frik]in' wrong.
So that kind of continued on for a few years until I was 17. This is when I REALLY got into it all. As I said, I was really only into the lore, and knew a thing or two about most of the main characters. Mostly DC, and I have stayed with DC so far. The strange thing that suckered me into this comic lifestyle was a dream. One night I had a dream I was Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and I was flying around. The first major dream I remembered about flying and I have been fascinated since. The thing was, I had never even watched an episode of Smallville ever. I knew what the show was, but that dream made me curious. So that morning I started watching Smallville, and finished all 10 seasons after about a month and a half. I've got to say, I fell in love with it.
I was totally and completely inspired by the character of Superman. That show had so much heart to me and I'd be lying if I said I didnt learn a thing or four from that show. From Clark, Jonathan, or Chloe. Something about it, just truly inspired me, and I wanted to be just like Superman. How could I possibly ever be someone so out there and fantastical? It was the morals and the code he lived by that I wanted to adopt. I wanted to truly be a better person, and I believe I have become one since.
At this point in my life I was unsure what I wanted to do, but I know I wanted to be like Superman. So what was it I could do? I figured firefighting. I wanted to save lives, and be there in the action. I wanted to give people hope, give back to my community, and lead by example. So I eventually went to EMT school and got my license for that. I fell in love with the field. By the time I got to fire academy I felt more connected to the medical side than fire, and I also found out just how little "saving" you're doing as a fire fighter. So I quit fire academy, it wasn't what I hoped it to be, so I made that bold decision to choose EMS.
I am now a nationally licensed EMT and absolutely love my job, I plan on going to paramedic school so I can truly use skills to save lives, as my scope of practice is limited as an EMT, I still do what I can with my medic. If it wasn't for Superman I may not be doing what I am doing, and I love it. I love the thrill, I love the lights and sirens, I love beinjg there in the emergency. From cardiac arrests, to some old woman falling down. Whether its 3pm or 3am, I absolutely love being there to help people, to be that kind of savior, even in the most simple of situations, they look to us for help.
I got a Superman emblem tattooed on to my wrist. I got some flack from a few people asking "Why the wrist, why the wrist?" I wanted to be able to see, and I want my patients to see it. It is the second most recognizable symbol next to Christ. I wanted them to know they are in good hands, and I can smile back at them. For me personally, it keeps me on track. When I'm feeling down, I can look aat my wrist and see hope. See a reason to pick my head up. I find myself in so many situations where I see something I should do, or someone I should help, and I look down and think, "What would Superman do?", and I do it.
Here I am today, room filled with New 52 action figures, Man of Steel, Dark Knight Rises, and Watchmen framed posters, and book shelves filled with graphic novels. Loving these characters, these stories, and these movies is more than a hobby for me. Like many peopel on this site, all of those things have became my lifestyle and I am proud of it. I fell in love with the art, the escapism, the adventure, and all of these characters could inspire anyone like they have me.