I was never into comic books growing up. With movies and t.v shows, who needed to sit and read pictures when you can watch them on the big screen? My appeal for them was as transparent as a brick and this was because I thought reading a comic would turn me into the female version of the Comic Book Guy from "The Simpsons." Now flash forward a decade or so and find me doing something my younger self would be shocked of: Reading and analyzing every panel of the comic book, "Ms. Marvel."

Although the comic was released in 2014, it wasn't until my friend Brandon had introduced me to the series recently stating that it starred a Pakistani-American teenage girl, Kamala Khan, that got superpowers and was just trying to figure out her life. She was a typical teenager that wanted to go out to parties, hang out with friends, and live life as fully as she could (or as fully as you could when having Desi parents). So Kamala and I were already basically the same except for the fact that she had superpowers. It was almost sad how much excitement grew in me as I found out a Pakistani girl was the superhero of the series because up to this point in my life, I had never seen one. A whirl wind of joy filled within me when I grabbed a copy of the comic as I realized I had been craving something I didn't even know existed. I was craving to connect with Kamala on a different level within the panels which I couldn't do growing up with books and t.v. shows. I watched "Full House" and "Boy Meets World" where I would follow the lives of a White American family, and although these shows were enjoyable and always held a clear moral in each episode, it was never anything I could culturally relate to.

Never before had I opened up a book or flipped to a channel where a Pakistani character wasn't playing the role of the doctor, engineer, or terrorist. So when I opened up the comic, I was elated to read along and envision myself as the main character due to our similar lifestyles. Kamala and I were facing the same challenges (you know, before she got her superpowers) which was: Don't go out after sunset, be home early, don't go out alone, don't go out with boys, don't show off your skin, pray five times a day, focus on your studies etc. Finally, I was able to see glimpses of myself being reflected off of these pages and I never knew how bad I wanted to see that until now.

Once Kamala had actually obtained her powers through a mysterious fog, I had fallen in love with her even more. At one point, uncertainty had spread over her due to the new found abilities, but she then remembered a part of the Quran that read "...whoever saves one person, it as if he has saved all of mankind," to motivate herself to take action. The fact that the Quran was even referenced to show that where some of Kamala's morals had originated from fills my heart with joy. It was at this moment where I wished that I had something similar to read as a child so instead of distancing myself from my religion and culture to be 'cool', I could have become better. With all the violence, discrimination, and Islamophobia spreading over the world, it's relieving to know there is an accessible comic book for ages of all kind to read where a Muslim character doesn't play a stereotype, but the heroine.

The moment in the comic that resonated me the most was when Kamala transformed herself from being Mrs. Marvel to Ms. Marvel. A moment of clarity seemed to rise in her as she realized she didn't need to morph into a tall, blonde, tight-suit wearing woman to be a superhero. She didn't need to make herself into what people thought a female superhero was supposed to look like. She needed to be herself, comfortable in her skin and morals, if she was going to save people. The scene stuck with me because during elementary, although I was surrounded my kids my age, I wasn't surrounded by any that looked like me. When I looked at them, I just wanted to look like them. I thought lighter skin and lighter hair would make me more acceptable even though at the time I didn't even know the word 'acceptable'. It took me a long time to realize my strength isn't in my appearances, it's within my morals and actions.

I could only wish for a time machine to take me back to my childhood where I could throw myself a copy of this comic. Having a Pakistani-American female superhero growing up would've changed me for the better simply because of representation. In this highly diverse world we're living in, millions of people are going unrepresented across books and movies which will shape the way they perceive themselves and others. Kamala Khan had a lasting impression on me, and I can't wait for little Muslim girls to see there's a superhero that's just like them.