Why is it that growing up involves pushing aside the very things that made you who you are? Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was my absolute favorite show growing up! I remember waking up extra early every Saturday morning just to watch the newest episode. Everyday after school I’d immediately turn to Fox Kids to watch my brightly colored heroes save the world yet again.

Getting together with the other neighborhood kids and playing Power Rangers was always a real treat, we’d fight invisible enemies using our individual pseudo-martial arts, and when things got really rough, we knew what we had to do. “Its morphin time! Dragonzord! Mastodon! Pterodactyl! Triceratops! Sabertooth tiger! Tyrannosaurus!” Invisible evil space aliens everywhere feared our legendary morphing abilities! My front yard being the main stage, I of course, was always the Green Ranger. Thus my favorite color was selected and remains to be changed, even a decade later.

At some point, I “grew up” and stopped watching the series. Over the years, the show matured, cast members were changed, and even spandex outfit designs changed, but no matter who or what the rangers looked like, I always had a deep level of respect for them.

Power Rangers was the reason I became interested in martial arts to begin with, not for self defense purposes, but in preparation of me becoming a ranger one day and saving the world from “evil space aliens.” To this day, I’m still heavily involved in martial arts, and for what? Self defense? Sure, I may need to defend myself one day, but deep down inside I still feel that one day I may just have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life using martial arts. Weather it be by teaching a kid discipline, restraint and integrity, or by standing up for whats right with the self confidence instilled by years of training. In the end, thats what Power Rangers was really about. A team of self-sacrificing heroes fighting for whats right against unbelievable odds.

So again I ask, why push aside the very thing that made me who I am today? In a society where stealing, killing, and taking advantage of other people is admirable, Power Ranger morals and values are needed more than ever! While I may not have the brightly colored outfit, I am a ranger at heart, and I hope to inspire the kids in my class to walk a virtuous path. If that makes me “childish”, then so be it!

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