A Different Kind of Superman

1.01 | the beginning of the end

Dear future me,

By the time you read this, it will be your first day of school again, and hopefully, you will have grown up to be the strong, independent woman you wanted to be at the start of the summer. If not, you still have time during the school year to learn and grow.

You've finally found a group of friends where you belong, so hold them close, and always remember their names. They love you for who you are, and they will not abandon you if they truly care about you.

While school may become difficult, don't be afraid to ask for help; speak out and use your voice. Elisa, work hard because your future depends on this year. This could be your last year. Remember your high school bucket list, what you love to do, and forget about the past. It's irrelevant now, so stay strong. Everything will work out in the end. Girl, you got this.

You may be a short, Asian female living in America, but never let anyone oppress you because of it, okay?

With love,

Your past self

"This is the part where the narrator says, 'But everything was not going to work out in the end.'" I scoffed at my letter to myself that I wrote at the beginning of the summer. Over the sixty-nine days of summer break, I most definitely did not become a strong, independent woman; I am officially a disappointment to myself. I folded the letter and put it back into the envelope for my future self to read it again once the year was over. It's going to be interesting to see how little or how much my life will have changed in ten months.

There were butterflies in my stomach but not like the ones from having a crush. These were the baby butterflies from the nervousness of having to see everyone at school again, all the friends, all the ex-friends, all the people I wanted to forget about. I was physically ready to walk back to the school but not mentally prepared to face the incoming wave of anxiety.

Luckily, this wasn't any another first day of school. This could be my last first day of school at Eastland High. I had an opportunity to attend a different school next year, but nothing was certain yet. My mind was split in two: one side for focusing on the present, one side for focusing on a future away from here. Don't get me wrong; I love Eastland, but some places could be better. A fresh start where no one knew who I was? That sounded heavenly.

Setting foot on school property for the first time in months was an overwhelming feeling. Did it feel good to be back? Well, yes and no. For my sister, it was her senior year, so she made plans to visit beloved past teachers. I was the opposite with zero intentions of saying hello to my freshman year teachers.

So I'm back at school, and I get to start the day with chemistry with Mr. Brailles, whom I have not heard highly of from swimmers who had him last year. The one positive of this is being able to have my best friend Liv in class. If we suffer in this class, at least we'll suffer together. Although our friendship hasn't endured many exhausting years of school, Liv made me understand that friendship is a matter of quality over quantity. We were the blonde and brunette dynamic duo, ready to take on the world. Her cheerful and bubbly nature made it the perfect match for me when I needed some encouragement to get through the day.

It was still early, so I decided to walk towards the "early kids club" or EKC as it was appropriately named last year. The whole friend group would meet at the area at the top of the back stairway in the English wing, and it was a place to hang out before the bell rang, a place we could all see each other before we parted ways for the day.

"Mousey!" My other best friend Thomas Vasquez shouted at me when he saw me coming. He adjusted his black rimmed glasses and his typical button-up plaid shirts. Thomas always made an attempt to dress semi-formal even for school, especially always making sure his dark hair was never a mess.