On June 30th, Spider-Man 2 will be released. One of the main plotlines of this sequel to the 2002 blockbuster movie is Peter Parker’s realization that because he is Spider-Man, he has no time for himself or his own life – and for a while – considers giving up his role as a Super Hero.

I know exactly how he feels.

Almost every day, I am asked to help someone with something and as a result, have no time for myself or my own personal life. I find myself constantly putting things I either want or need to do aside in order to assist someone else – which usually ends up screwing up my schedule of making me miss out on something I wanted to do. And it seems that whenever I finish helping one person – another almost instantly calls upon me for aid.

The worst part of this is that while I do not mind helping someone when they are in need, I find that most of the time, the person asking something of me does not seem to care if I am too busy to help them or if I have more important things to do – and then actually get mad when I can’t help them. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that someone else’s problems are less important than mine – I am just saying that I sometimes have other obligations and tasks that I simply cannot put off – but must because some of the people that ask me for assistance don’t want to hear that I am too busy to help them.

These constant acts of kindness have lost me work time, made me miss events and programs – and cost me sleep, downtime and even money. And worse than that – I find that in some cases – people just expect me to help them as if it is my job or my duty to do so. I love helping people, but sometimes it gets to a point where I feel like it is expected of me – and I must help them whether I want to or not.

Some people say that I am too nice and that I should learn to say no to people more often. First of all, I can’t say no because in most cases, my “no” means “yes” – because that is all people want to hear. Secondly, I really do enjoy helping people – just at my convenience. I have also been told that I am too much of a homebody, because I sometimes dread going out and attending parties and functions. The reason I am indeed a bit of a homebody if you will is because after a day of running around and saving the universe – all I want to do is enjoy a little downtime, something that to me – is as rare as a Bicentennial Quarter. So rare in fact that in most cases, I actually stay awake until three o’clock in the morning – because that is the only time I can be myself and unwind without a single interruption.

So while, like Peter Parker, I have sometimes considered giving up my role as a “Super Hero” – I know, like him, that I cannot. Helping people is part of who I am. I was raised to treat people how I would like to be treated and to always help others when they are in need. I also appreciate the fact that people look at me as someone who can be of assistance and successfully help solve their problems. And most importantly, I am very thankful fore the life that God has blessed me with – and choose to express my gratitude to Him by providing others with a few “blessings” of my own in the form of help when it is needed.

So although I may complain about it sometimes, I enjoy being a “Super Hero” to those people who need me…

…I just wish I had a few super powers of my own to help me get the job done.