Sometimes, feelings are difficult to manage and name. Many of us have trouble expressing ourselves. I try my best to express myself creatively through my art but sometimes I need to tell someone how I feel. That can be difficult because expressing feelings can make me feel vulnerable. I never want to be vulnerable. I have learned to express myself with my close circle of friends. I’ve grown to feel safe in tell my friends how I feel.

Feelings

“I can stare down Kang the Conqueror, I can wise-ass Captain America…but God forbid I have to tell a boy I like how I feel.” - Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)*

Teenager, Katherine (Kate) Bishop is alone in Central Park. She is attacked. Using her family’s wealth, she decides to learn to defend herself – so she starts the training. Kate is trained in many forms of fighting and martial arts. Later Kate helps a group of superhero teens the “Young Avengers” rescue her sister from an attempted kidnapping at her sister’s wedding. Kate decides to join the Young Avengers. The kids sneak into the “Mighty Avengers” abandoned mansion. Kate then dons Mockingbird’s, Hawkeye’s, and Black Widow’s utility belts and weapons. She takes the name “Hawkingbird” but later changes it to Hawkeye. Kate is a highly skilled marksman and archer; she is level headed but out spoken and independent.

We all have feelings. We all have the same feelings – we no matter where we live and or our race, creed or color we experience the SAME FEELINGS. We need to learn to accept people for their feelings – if we are human we have the same feelings. Therefore feelings cannot be argued. Ideals, thoughts and actions can be argued but not feelings. If we are sad – we are sad. If we are angry – we are angry. The difference is “Why” and “How” we are sad or angry or joyful or frighten. Here is the lesson. Learning to accept other peoples’ feelings and recognizing them as our feelings also. Here is the much deeper lesson – learning to express our feelings appropriately. That is easier said than done. How do you tell your best friend they “hurt your feelings”? How do you tell your child that you feel stressed out from the noise? How do you tell that boy you feel secure holding his hand? Here is a clue Take a deep breath, count to ten, and calmly and quietly say your sentence, “Hey, Stephen ...”

Hawkeye – Kate Bishop
First Appearance: Young Avengers #1, April 2005

Creators: Allan Heinberg (plot) Jim Cheung (art)

* “Young Avengers Presents…Hawkeye” #6, 2008