Heroes Make Us Who We Are

When I was a kid, I wanted to be James Bond so bad.

I had a card in my wallet that was a License to Kill. I pretended to be him every day in my summer vacation. When a new movie came out, I'd chew the seatbelt for the hour-long drive from our house in Bragg Creek to the Famous Players at West Hills Mall.

In grade 1, at our Dress-Like-The-Job-You-Wanna-Do-One-Day Day, I didn't wear a costume. Instead, I just told people I was gonna be a spy. Douche bag? Sure. But I was a dedicated douche bag.

I loved that dude and, in my six-year-old mind, I was gonna be him when I grew up.

Then I grew up. Along with my years, my childish naivety wore off. Being a spy wasn't a real thing. At least, being James Bond wasn't.

I coulda tried to become Pierce Brosnan, but I was never that into acting.

So away went the dream of being a spy. Eventually, I decided on becoming a doctor. That went out the window too, but that's a different story.

But who the hell knows what that did to my little-kid brain. How did James Bond affect my outlook on life?

Am I braver, stronger, smarter, and funnier?

Or am I more misogynistic, racist, arrogant, and dickheadish?

Think back to your hardcore heroes as a kid. It's easy to remember, they're the ones you wanted to be so bad it hurt.

Then think about how they made you who you are.

It's ain't so easy, but you'll start to see that a lotta them is you.