by Holden Potter

Created on: November 15, 2008

It's difficult to say that I relate my sense of morality to that of Batman without sounding childish, conceited, or completely insane. Yet for as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with Batman. In my mind, Batman is more than just a masked vigilante with clever gadgets and an awesome car. He is a symbol of moral integrity. He makes a conscious effort to always do what's right, no matter the cost. He strives for good even when everyone else around him has given up hope. In times where it would be safe, convenient, and personally beneficial to join the "bad guys", he refuses. Batman knows that, despite his flaws, he is a "good guy." In a world desperate for true heroes, it is important to maintain his sense of morality.

I have always tried to follow a code of ethics similar to Batman's. I was challenged to live up to that code during one of the first days of school this year.

I had just moved to a new school, and being a senior only amplified my frustration and anxiety. Luckily, the few cross country practices that I had already attended allowed me to meet a few people beforehand, including a friendly senior named Brian. For the first two days, I ate lunch with my friend Brandon, a junior that I happened to know from a Jewish youth group. I was glad to have somebody to talk to, but I knew that if I wanted to have any hope of making friends, I would have to step out of my comfort zone. So when Brian invited me to join him at his lunch table, I graciously accepted the offer.

One of the problems with moving as a senior is that I haven't spent enough time in the school to know the inner workings of the cliques. Meanwhile, my peers can tell you all about who is friends with whom, know the latest updates on who's dating whom, and can write a book about how who used to be friends with whom but is not anymore because she hooked up with so-and-so at that party last Friday.

My obliviousness lead me to believe that Brian really was friends with the people at the table. Even so, my past high school experience couldn't help but wonder how a "nerd" (I'm not being condescending, that just is how the clique-based high school culture would classify him), could have managed to befriend football players, the unofficial royalty of any American high school. I suspended my disbelief further when they started teasing him a little. Then it got out of hand:

"Whoa, Brian, you're looking kind of sick," suggested one boy.

"I do?" asked Brian.

"Yeah man, you actually look pretty pale.

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