This Blog Comes In 3.5 Parts!

First comes the half part which is, I am late again. I am getting good at being late, this is not a talent I am proud of. I plan on plastering my room with sticky notes reminding me to blog. So... two late and counting, let me know if I'm up for a punishment. :/

Part 1, then.

Thanksgiving.
I used to love Thanksgiving because it brings my family together around food and everything, but lately... my family is all living in the same house and we eat together almost every Friday and Sunday, so Thanksgiving, is just doing the same thing with slightly more food and reason than normal. I think what makes Thanksgiving so special is doing something different, seeing more of your family or whatever. It's not so special when we aren't gathered around telling old family stories but rather we are talking about politics and the economy and I just want to start blabbering about what House people who be in at Hogwarts and whether there are any redeeming qualities in a Slytherin. In the very least I want to hear embarrassing stories from the childhood's of myself and my cousins. We didn't even talk about what we were thankful for. It wasn't Thanksgiving, it was just eating too much food.

However on the note of thankfulness:
1. I want to echo Sandy in saying I'm thankful for the internet. Most of the things which I am most passionate about come from the internet. Nerdfighters, the Harry Potter fandom, the Harry Potter Alliance, Tumblr, blogs, friends. It all starts here and I would hate to be without this.
2. My family and friends, they are such a core and important part of my life and I love each and every one of them, I hope that they know that.
3. I'm thankful for the good in the world. We are easily blinded by all the bad stuff that is happening and it makes for a very depressing newscast and outlook on the world. However I love that there is so much good too, if you look for it.
4. Finally creativity, I think that our imaginations and creativity are the things which make this world so awesome. It is the brilliant and crazy ideas that have lead to all kinds of different things in life.

Part 2, boxes.



Sandy, I really liked this video and if any of you haven't watched it yet I would suggest it (especially because what I'm saying might not make sense otherwise!) This speech was really fun to listen to and makes me want to find some of her writings. As I'm interested in in psychology and social work and so I really liked what she said about perspective. I spent a month in Madagascar this past summer (I may have mentioned it before, I don't remember now) and while there one of the biggest changes for me was seeing how people interact with other people. Though we were all thrown into completely foreign situations and experiences, but the constant was the 19 of us. Tension were often high and a lot of that was based on how people saw each other and each others actions. When I came back from this trip I was constantly looking at people's perceptions and thinking about the life stories of people walking down the street, a very psychologist habit. I don't know, I guess I'm saying that perception is interesting.

I've also been doing a lot of thinking about the "warm and fuzzy path" as Maggie put it. I have rather steadfastly followed that path for my entire school career. Now... well, I'm still on it, and succeeding at it I suppose, but now I'm thinking different. I'm choosing not to do assignments sometimes, and staying up late to finish things related to Harry Potter, while my homework lies unfinished. I do the homework, but school has become less of a priority, not a be all and end all, and more of just a part of life. I'm putting a priority on living. It sounds kinda basic, but, I've spent a lot of my life putting everything into school and what I'm supposed to do, now I want to focus on living. A brilliant switch to pull in the terrifying junior year. However, that's why it's not really the "warm and fuzzy path"

Weird People Come Next!
I can't explain how much this message made me smile. That's all of us (no offense to those who would not like to be labeled weird). But admit it, we run around, ranting about the things that make us passionate and calling ourselves Nerdfighters. That's not exactly normal. However, I think it is absolutely brilliant.

Finally, labels. After watching this speech fifteen or so times, the part about labels got to me. I just happened to pause it right after the bit about "the box you put [teens] in, they might wear that label for the rest of their lives." I paused it, and that echoed in my head. Was that true? I wondered, not so much about the general populous, I know that can be true, but was it true for me? The answer I came up with was a resounding Yes. I mean, I'm not quite seventeen and that surely doesn't count as the rest of my life, but I've been labeled as "a good kid" and a good student. So I have been. I know there are some things that we become because as children we are exposed to it. I've been exposed to "be good" and I've taken it to the extreme, to the point where I don't know where "this is what I want" ends and "this is what I've been told I want" begins. I'm starting to question that as a part of growing up, but, quite frankly, its terrifying. I don't want to question who I am, but at the same time I need to know who I am.


Finally, Part 3, HPA and Harry Potter Awesome!
Here is why my Wednesday was totally freaking awesome, we had something called Service Day, where clubs and charities set up booths and kids around the school had to come around and visit them. I helped run one for our Harry Potter Alliance chapter. We got over 80 signatures that day, which was more than our Lumos Party! It was totally amazing to talk to these people and spew facts about fair trade and the HPA and get them to sign our petition. It is one of my favorite feelings to feel so passionate and comfortable with a speech that I can just lock eyes with someone and just start going. Service Day was missing a bit of the school, because those who considered it below their notice and appreciation just skipped school, but of the people who were there, I felt a lot more faith in the goodness of my school because there were so many people who listened and cared, it makes me feel better about my high school.

Another reason this is so late *cough cough* is procrastination *cough cough* Well, yes, but! I was procrastinating making this video which I now can share with you!



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Alright, that's all folks, it's approaching 2 am and I need to get up early for a round of mother-daughter bonding time. See you all (hopefully on time *sighs at own incompetence*) next week!