Happy birthday, Harry

Blaise: I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me. But I can't help it that I'm popular.

Hat: Watch out Slytherin! Fresh meat coming through!

Neville: What do we even talk about?

Hat: Ashton Kutcher.

Neville: Is that a band?

Hat: HUFFLEPUFF! (...jk - Gryffindor).

Hat: Nice wig, blondie. What's it made of?

Draco: Your mom's chest hair!

Hat: SLYTHERIN!

Patil girl not in Gryffindor: Yeah, I like math.

Hat: Why?

PP: Because it's the same in every country.

Hat: That's beautiful. This girl is deep. RAVENCLAW!

Umbridge: *sit in chair*

Hat: You go sit with the Slytherlastics. On Wednesdays they wear green.

Harry: So if you can talk...why are you a hat?

Dumbledore: Omg, Harry, you can't just ask people why they're hats!

Hat: Ravenclaw?

Two for you.

Gryffindor?

Four for you Gryffindor, you go Gryffindor!

And Ravenclue?

Do we have a Ravenclue here?

Bird that's not a raven: It's RavenCLAW.

Hat: Oh, "claw," here you go.

One for you.

And none for Hufflepuff. Bye.

#happybirthdayharry

"It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to."

I would like to take a moment to talk about Sadness.

Yes, the character from Inside Out. But also just the emotion in general. Sadness - the emotion - is something we are all very familiar with.


Terrible things have happened in our world, especially of late, and if Inside Out taught us anything it's that it's okay to be sad. It's okay to feel grief and to cry from time to time.


Grief can be a powerful tool in leading us to recognize the true joy in our lives; but C.S. Lewis taught us something very important about using grief in his discourse "A Grief Observed."

"I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process...For in grief nothing 'stays put.' One keeps on emerging from a phase, but it always recurs. Round and round. Everything repeats. Am I going in circles, or dare I hope I am on a spiral? But if a spiral, am I going up or down it?"

Grief can be used to take us in either direction - up or down. Think of it as the spiral itself, the gear moving us the direction we want to go.







When the world witnesses a bombing, a shooting, a war, etc. do we use our grief to tear others down for the harm their actions have caused, or do we allow it to raise us up - causing us to stand again on our own two feet, and reach down to help those others who have fallen as well?

I have heard a lot recently that our nation is getting worse - that we are spiraling down into a rut from which there is no salvation - a rut that "back in my day we never would have fallen into!"

"The same leg is cut off time after time." - C.S. Lewis

"It was safer back then!"

"We're better off before guns!"

"We would NEVER have treated others that way!"







Truth alert: You did, and you still do. We all do. The world is not getting worse. "The world" is doing nothing, actually, but keeping us all alive. It is the humans who inhabit it who are making mistakes, and we are all of us just as capable of making those mistakes as our brother.

There is a lot of negativity in the world - and we are often the cause of it, but there is also a lot of good - and we can be the cause of it as well.

Satan would have you focus on the bad. Focusing on the bad makes you forget that God is there - that he cares and is guiding us toward the light every day. Focusing on the terror makes us believe that terror is all there is, but just as Joy learned (when she had literally fallen to the "bottom of the pit" and was ready to give up) - bad things often lead to good.

Focusing on the bad doesn't make it go away, but forgetting about it doesn't either.




Focusing on the light until we can no longer see the bad - no longer see it because we are no longer creating it ourselves - that is our real defense against the horrors of our times.




Let's take a moment to realize how far we have come!

Other races - on the whole - are being treated with less hatred and contempt than they were before, and great strides are achieved every day in furthering education for ALL children all over the world.
Women are being offered work in areas they were never allowed in before - just look at our government!
I don't care if you're voting for her or not: We have a woman nominee up for the Presidency, and that is an amazing thing.

America has come far. The world has come far.

But we will only continue to change for the better if we choose to spiral up instead of down.
Please don't use politics to bring others down - to point out their "faults," to tear them to the ground.
Use it to inspire others to fight for what we all want - to stand up for the good, to continue to change the world.

Bad times will come, and often we will be the bringers of it - but good times are there as well, and we hold the power to acknowledge them in our very hands.

A Muggle-born Nation

Today is a holiday in the Mormon world, called "Pioneer Day."

If you hear that word and immediately think of women in long skirts and bonnets and men with amazing beards pulling handcarts and wagons, then congrats - you've probably met a Relief Society president at some point in your life.

This is the day we choose to honor our ancestors - those who crossed the American plains with nothing but their faith to carry them on: on to a land where they would be free to worship God without fear of persecution. It was the day in which they arrived in the soon to be established Salt Lake Valley.

But enough history lesson - many of you probably don't even believe in or have particularly strong feelings toward a God, the Mormons, or religious freedom at all. Many of you might not care about a history that happened to a people with whom you don't relate, and who lived so long ago. You are not a bad person for feeling so - it is simply not a concern on your mind, and who can blame you? There are so many other things to be worried about that are happening right now.

a Pioneer for our, and all, nations.

Since the word "pioneer" itself might also be a foreign concept to you or even a concept that you feel some disconnect from, I would like to take this opportunity to bring up a different image of the word - one I hope all of us will stake personal claim to in years to come.

In the early 1520s, the word "pioneer" was recorded as "a foot soldier who prepares the way for the army." They were the scouts who cleared the path for the battalion to come - scouts who pledge their faith and their loyalty to their brothers-in-arms. Sometimes they were viewed as "pawns" in the game (which is the root of the original French word) - like the pawn pieces in a chess match: easier to sacrifice than the others; but to the true chess master, they were recognizably just as important as every other piece on the field.

Now imagine it in the wizarding world - I know you're all secretly (or not so secretly) Harry Potter fans. Just imagine that you're a muggle-born, receiving your letter to join the magical world - a day you couldn't be "waiting" for, because it was a day you didn't know would arrive.

It's easy to place yourself in those shoes if you are an American. We are still relatively new to this world as a nation. We still have pioneering to do. We're like the muggle born wizards entering the world of magic for the first time: a new generation of wand-waving, inexperienced lunatics who have some ground to make up, but also have a lot to offer this already "established" world. We might not know as much about politics, economics, or establishing world order as the rest of our compatriots, but we have all been offered the same opportunity: to live here on this earth.

It's important to remember that our different heritage/upbringing/race, etc. does not make us of any greater or less worth than those who have likewise inherited this planet. Each human life is of equal importance. Muggleborns, half-bloods, and purebloods are all created equal: but equality does not equal frivolity. We cannot sit back and do nothing, allowing those of like-minded potential do all the work. If we want "change", we have to contribute to the act of "change."

Whether you believe in a God/the Mormon Pioneers/religious freedom or not, I invite you to look at today as an invitation to "Pioneer" in whatever you do believe in most. If you believe in education, be a foot soldier in establishing schools all over the world. If you believe in gender equality, be a foot soldier in removing the wage gap in the world of business and work. If you believe in magic, be a foot soldier in the battle against illiteracy and ignorance and teach children how to read...Harry Potter! Just kidding. Teach them to read other books too.
(but Harry Potter's a good place to start...)

If you are unhappy with the politics of today, prepare and start paving the way for a new generation of politics that you and your children can be proud of.

Being a Pioneer does not ensure that you will see the fruits of your labors - many have died in the pursuit of what they believe - but it does ensure that someone, someday will; and pioneers fight for the someone, the anyone, the everyone.

I believe in an eternal salvation for every man, woman, and child on this earth - EVERY one. That is why I served a mission, and that is why I strive to continually serve all mankind. If I am failing in this task, I apologize. Like those pioneers who came before me, I am not perfect and am prone to mistakes, but I am also driven by my faith, and I have faith in humanity. I believe that we can rise up to the challenge that has been presented in these latter days - the challenge to be better to our fellow men than we have in the past: to better ourselves and to help others become better as well.

While standing up for what you believe in, look at the ground on which you stand, for it was fought for and won by those who came before - the earlier foot soldiers, the pioneers of your heritage. Recognize that there is good in this world worth fighting for as you defend the ground that's already been won.

Join the Resistance, the Fellowship, the Order of the Phoenix, whatever you want: be a foot soldier for the nation - do whatever you can to make this world, our world, a better place to call home.

And, Happy Pioneer Day all!

Struggle of the daily "chew" - an article about how sometimes completely normal and even non-controversial things can drive others up the wall, and how we should be accepting, regardless.

I hate the sound of chewing food.

It doesn't matter who you are, what you are eating, or how much I generally like you - if you are eating next to me and there is not enough sound to drown it out, I'm probably going to get this look in my eye - the one that says "Please, get out of my sight. Now."

This is a daily struggle that I, and many others, deal with (I support and promote FCIA - the "Food Chewing is Annoying" group) - but for all intents and purposes, it is one that does not make a lot of sense.

"Logically" speaking - chewing food is a normal and everyday occurrence. It is something we all do - regardless of age, gender, race, or sexual preference - and it is something we cannot avoid.

So why does it bother me?

I don't know.

There are other things in life that I am uncomfortable with - things for which, unlike chewing, I have much more "logical" and even evidence based proof in defense for.

But being able to defend my beliefs does not make them any more important or "logical" than the beliefs of another. More importantly, it does not give me liberty or license to hate on any points of view that are contrary to my own.

Discrimination and abuse should never be tolerated under any circumstances - ever.

Hate is still hate, no matter what platform you hide it behind.

Now, that being said: I am a Mormon - a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - and as such, my personal beliefs, opinions, and ways of living life are often going to clash with yours.

Clashing of ideals is 100% normal, and 100% fine.

If we agreed on everything - Trump wouldn't be running for president.

But there is a big difference between having opposing points of view and promoting hate.

Here are some examples of things that I find wrong - or even just annoying - in life:

The sound of eating food

Smoking

High school dating

The consumption of alcohol

Sex before marriage

Not reading Harry Potter

The existence of scorpions in any way shape or form.

There are, of course, many other things on my list - like calling your spouse "baby," or getting a pet rat - but I'll stick with these ones as my examples for now.

Now, here are some examples of me turning those view points into a promotion of hate:

No one is allowed to eat - ever.

No one is allowed to smoke - ever.

No one is allowed to date in high school - ever.

No one is allowed to consume alcohol - ever.

No one is allowed to have sex before marriage - ever.

No one is allowed to not read Harry Potter - ever.

No one is allowed to be a scorpion - ever.

Perhaps some of those seem "logical" to you - like the reading Harry Potter one (because seriously people, BEST BOOKS EVER. READ THEM)
- but that does not mean we should go down the street telling everyone who does not think the books are worth their time that they are horrible people and we don't want anything to do with them!



I am friends with plenty of people who have never and will never read those books.

I am friends with plenty of people who smoke, drink, and live with their girlfriends or boyfriends.

I am certainly friends with people who eat.

(I don't think I am friends with anyone who likes scorpions, though...they seem to be a universally hated creature - just saying...)

So I guess all I'm trying to say with this blog post today is - I hope you can all still love me, even though I hate the way you chew.

Waiting Out the Storm

During every storm there is a single point of breaking - when ferocity pushes past containment and into the realms of unmanageable chaos. During every life, these "breaking points" happen far more often than once, but are seldom acknowledged for what they really are: like the storm - a natural, albeit undesirable, occurrence.

Winds crash against shore, waves flood the skies, and lightning cracks against trees: in these moments we are often rendered useless - buried in the ground, unable to pick ourselves back up - regardless of the otherwise fortunate circumstances that surround us.

Often, these "storms" come in disguise. They hide in the shadows of the sun: obscure their presence in the ashes of commonality. Sometimes, they can even drive us to feelings of shame or guilt. We see our happy lives and we begin to wonder if these words are true:

“It’s all in your head.”

“Snap out of it!"

"You'll get over it soon."

In such moments, we often lose the fight. We’ve given up saying "no" to that empty pounding inside. 

We've allowed the rain to soak our bones, until we are numb to the tempest that surrounds us; until we are oblivious to the reality before our eyes - the knowledge that these “breaking points” can carry even the strongest of trees with the deepest of roots plummeting down upon a desolate earth.

Sometimes there is no clarity to be found in our defeat: we do not know why we have fallen. Perhaps there were no warning winds, no forecasts of rains – and perhaps we find that we seem to be the only ones experiencing the tumultuous storm – but of this much I am certain: no matter the storm, there is no weakness in such a submission.

You are not insane because you feel the pressure of a storm that does not seem to be pressuring others. You are not broken for falling to a wind that has not pushed down everyone else. I promise you, the winds are real, “the tempest is raging,” and you are not alone.

Storms come, and storms go – but they are there all the same. They can incapacitate us for a while – nobody can protect you from the reality of that – but just as everyone is capable of falling, so too are we capable of getting back up.

I’m reminded of a poem by Tolkien:

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.”

- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

May those who are poor, lost, withered, and cold find strength in the knowledge that they are not alone; they stand, rather, amidst the finest the world has to offer – men and women who have, themselves, risen from the depths and the ashes of human life, to inherit their birthright as rulers of the infinite heavens above.

We are all refugees in this storm.

...and it's okay.

[Read the following in your best Meg Ryan voice, and you’ll hear the words as they are running through my head…]

Tonight, I looked myself in the mirror

Tonight I looked up in the bathroom mirror, and for the first time in forever I thought to myself, “You know? I look quite beautiful today.”

I look beautiful, with these marks on my face and this stain on my shirt…I’m not dressed in fine clothes or even a full outfit really; I’m wearing the top half of my Sunday dress and the black leggings I had on beneath my skirt. My hair is in the same bun I put it in after my shower this morning, which means the inside is probably still wet, and there are strands sticking out from beneath that white winter headband I use to keep those pesky bangs out of my face. My make-up is hardly done and I just finished watching two Meg Ryan flicks back to back (hence the voice) – so my hygiene probably isn’t the greatest (yeah, of course I cried at the end! Tom Hanks, you wonderful man, you…)

I even wore my Lord of the Rings necklace today – which totally did not go with my outfit, but it matched my earrings so I figured…what the heck.

And even as I notice all these things about myself, and as I walked back into my room and see the mess on my floor – the dirty clothes in the corner, my sheets aren’t even on the mattress (I’ve been sleeping on the top of my blanket for at least a week now) – and I realize that all in all my life is a complete mess…

...and even then I can somehow look in the mirror and say, "hey. ...you look beautiful."

...and I don’t think I’ve ever used that word to describe myself, ever.

Beautiful.

Even when I was happier with my image, even when I took better care of myself, even when I was 3 sizes smaller than I am right now…I never really thought I was beautiful.

And tonight I did.

Tonight...I did.

And it felt wonderful.

It felt wonderful to think that I was beautiful – and it didn’t require make-up, and it didn’t require a fancy dress. It didn’t even require complete dress…but I felt honestly, truly, completely beautiful.

So I just thought I’d share – because when you feel good about something, you want to share it, right?

I think that’s why we have movies. People make things that give them emotions and then they say “Hey! Look at these emotions over here! Don’t you want to try some?”

I mean, who doesn’t want to try a scene from the movies? Who doesn’t want to try Tom Hanks on top the Empire State building...to try perfect Reese Witherspoon hair, some Audrey Hepburn-esque class, a John Williams soundtrack playing in the background? …yes; please; sign me up.

And you know what – those moments aren’t even perfect; movies aren’t even perfect; life isn’t even perfect: and it’s okay. It's okay to be imperfect. It’s okay to be a mess. We’re all messes. Even during our “perfect moments” we’re a mess. Even during our beautiful moments, we’re a mess.

I'm a mess.

And it’s okay.

And those are just my two cents for the night.

Goodnight. 

Come on, Muggles...

So, I’d like to set the record straight on a few things Potter-related…

[*non Harry Potter fans, keep reading – you might actually enjoy this…*]

As anyone with access to any of my social media pages surely knows by now, I am very much a Harry Potter fan – and I don’t even try to hide it. 

Due to my outspoken Potterness, I am the regular beneficiary (or victim, depending on how you look at it) of Potter posts, Potter tags, and Potter related questions from family, peers, and friends. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love them, just as I love being a part of the Potter fandom (it’s really great. I love this fan base).

<--This one gets me every time.

But there are a few reoccuring topics I’d like to put to rest, and they are as follows:

1.   “You’re such a big fan…like the biggest fan. You must know everything!”

No. Not even close. I guarantee there are fans bigger than me.  

And I have been beaten in Potter trivia before (though I will admit, it’s rather hard to do). I love it when someone knows something that I didn't know before - and I'm always down for a good “hypothetical” debate about all things Potter, so if you've got a question - don't assume I'll know, but feel free to ask.

2.   “But seriously – it’s like the only thing on your Facebook feed. You must never read or watch anything else.”

I’m a Lit Studies major, so…definitely not true. I read books like candy consumption on Halloween night. That doesn’t mean I don’t make the time to reread all my favorites, but it rarely happens. Especially since the Harry Potter series is so long (just check out this infographic - 2nd to the last) – but I still usually make time to reread the series once a year. The problem is…once you start book one, you have to keep going till you’re done. 

[Side note: anyone else wanting to read the books (or reread the books), but having a hard time fitting them into their busy schedule should check out Jim Dale's audiobook versions. SO GOOD.]

On a related note – the movies aren’t even my favorite. Granted, I’m always down for a Potter marathon, and I’ll love every second of it – but really I do it more for the memories and jokes we can make/swap along the way.

The books are ten thousand times better.

3.   “You must spend hours on Pottermore!”

Actually, I haven’t been on Pottermore since I signed up to be one of the beta testers back when it first premiered. Quite honestly, if you've learned something from being on that site at all within the past few years, you probably know more than me.

It's not that I don’t like the site – I love it! And I love the information (Here are some random facts for anyone interested).

But for me Pottermore is just another one of those things I'll have to save for when I can actually afford to waste time...because goodness knows once I log back on it'll be days before I see daylight again...

4.   "I bet you’ll never marry someone who isn’t a Harry Potter fan.”

Au contraire Mein Herr! ...While the chances of this not happening are particularly rare (there aren’t many who outright hate the series), there's still a chance I end up dating/marrying someone who doesn't like the books, hasn't read them, or maybe even refuses to give them a try (what a sad sad creature he would be). I mean, I'm friends with plenty of people who have this sad outlook on life, so why would I suddenly change my criteria of friendship just because he's a boy, who for some reason likes me? (again...the chances of him liking me AND my obsession, and not being a fan himself...probably pretty low...)

But so long as he allows me to live out my fandom in peace (and doesn't get too mad when I periodically tease him about his sad muggle ignorance), I don't see the need for concern.

In fact, it will probably save us a lot of money if he’s not as big of a fan as me – I do have a rather unhealthy habit of buying Potter related t-shirts...

[Side note: I’m totally not ashamed of the whole “naming children after book characters thing”, and if I can pull off having a Ginny, or Charlie, or George – I’m totally going to do it. In fact, I have a long list of book names from other favorite series that I’m totally going to try and force on my children/pets/automobiles...]

5.   "After all this time?" "...Always."

Nope. Sorry. Not romantic.

Don’t ever try and quote this scene to me as if you think you’re being sweet. In fact - that will probably be more of a deal breaker to me than you not having read the books. I like Snape and all, but I think his obsession with Lily is rather creepy, and not romantic at all. So unless you’re Alan Rickman, I don’t ever want to hear those words spoken to me. Ever.

I'd rather watch Dobby die a second death.









6.   "So...Potter themed wedding?"

While we’re on this romance note: Yes, I do have a Pinterest board with Harry Potter themed wedding material on it. No, I am not actually planning on forcing that kind of wedding on anyone. Yes, I would love to have some kind of Harry Potter tie-in (of course I would!) – preferably with multiple books as the theme, and not just the one (here's my board). No, I don’t need any of those things to be happy. Just the right guy in the right place at the right time will do.

Okay, I'm sure there are other things, but I have homework I'm avoiding that's due at Midnight - so here are a few more images for your consideration...and then I'd better go.

Mischief Managed.