After watching Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I felt like my eyes were opened to a lot of different things. Watching the different scenes and the impact of those scenes made me think of mental health and how it relates to the movie.
One scene in particular stood out the most. The music in the background and the words of advice given in times of hardship.
Aunt May said, “…you’re a really special person, and I know that will always make you feel really great about yourself. I know sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it will be really lonely, and sometimes because you’re special, people can do dark, monstrous things to you. But this is what I want you to know. You’re beautiful, and the people who love you will love you not because you’re special. They will love you because you’re you.”
This one scene hit deep. It made me cry, and the overall meaning behind what Aunt May said is very true for anyone in life. No matter how hard things get, no matter what you face, keep pressing forward. There will be obstacles; there will be times you feel alone. There will be times when you want to scream. However, just know everyone is only human. It is okay to have these feelings; what matters is what you do with them. Would you rather those feelings eat away at you slowly and steadily, or would you rather take time to sit down with how you feel and really look into those feelings? Why do you feel this way? What caused you to feel this way? When did you start to feel this way? How do you want to address these feelings?
There was also another scene in the movie that stood out. Peter Parker was dealing with lots of emotions: loneliness, isolation, regret, anger, and hyper fixation on the negative aspects of himself, and he tried to push everything down. The more he pushed everything down, the worse it got. It was like he was losing a part of himself the longer he did this.
Later on, near the very end, he decided to fully accept himself. He learned to accept his flaws; he learned that the mistakes he made in the past do not have to define who he is today. He can learn to accept those mistakes, or he can keep letting them tear him down. He is not perfect; nobody is perfect. We all have flaws; we all have issues we are dealing with.
If there was anything to be learned from this movie, I believe it would be to check in with yourself and spend time with yourself to decompress.
It is okay to have time for yourself; it is okay to feel lonely at times. What truly matters is that you have a balance between “you” time and time you spend with others. Some people need more time to themselves to decompress; others feel recharged around people.
It is good to talk to people when you need help. You don’t have to figure out everything on your own. It is good to have others to lean on; people you can vent to about how you feel.
You don’t have to be perfect; you don’t have to do everything at once. It’s okay to have days when you don’t feel sociable or you feel down. You’re not alone.
Every day is a brand-new beginning. Every new day is another day to try and try again.
Jordan Leslie is a fourth year at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
