I Missed My Calling in Life

Okay so when I was eleven years old my fifth grade teacher read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to my class. At the time I was really not into the story, and all though I liked it I never bothered to read any of the other books. When the movies started coming out I went and watched them mainly so I had an idea of what the huge phenomenon was all about.

But then for some strange reason ten years later I decided to finish the series. So the last week in August I started where I left off on book two. Then proceeded to read all of the remaining books finishing the first week of October. Mastering six books in six weeks.

I now realize I truly missed my calling in life. I should have been born a witch. As I sat dully in my college classes learning accounting principles and the correct procedures in the hotel industry I longed to be sitting in Hogwarts transfiguring teacups into mice, or levitating cushions, re-potting mandrakes, cooking up odd potions, fighting off dementors, or simply eating elvish cooking! So why then was I born a muggle?

Ten ways you know you have been reading to much Harry Potter:

1. When you need something and it's to far away to reach you shout, "Accio (insert item)!"
2. You start carrying a pencil with you everywhere you go pretending it's your wand.
3. You are suspicious of people acting strange around you and wonder if they are strangers masked in Polyjuice Potion.
4. You long to go to King's Cross Station in London to see if you can actually locate Platform 9 3/4.
5. When asked if you would like a drink your first thought is, "I want a butterbeer."
6. You find yourself holding a regular kitchen broom wishing it was a Firebolt.
7. You peruse ESPN hoping there might be a Quidditch game on.
8. You find yourself analyzing what Hogwarts house you would most likely be sorted into.
9. You are annoyed when pictures are stationary and don't move or talk to you.
10. You start referring to people as muggles.

It's true, ten years of resisting the phenomenon dissolved and now I am a Harry Potter nerd too. What can I say J.K. Rowling is a genius!

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire,

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate,

to say that for destruction ice is also great,

and would suffice.

-Robert Frost

Snippet from Rilke's "To Say Before Going to Sleep"

I would like to sing someone to sleep,
have someone to sit by and be with.
I would like to cradle you and softly sing,
be your companion while you sleep or wake . . .

Little Tear-Vase By: Rainer Maria Rilke

Other vessels hold wine, other vessels hold oil
inside the hollowed-out vault circumscribed by their clay.
I, as smaller measure, and as the slimmest of all,
humbly hollow myself so that just a few tears can fill me.

Wine becomes richer, oil becomes clear, in it's vessel.
What happens with tears?-They made me blind in my glass,
made me heavy and made my curve iridescent,
made me brittle, and left me empty at last.

The Worth of all People

C.S. Lewis is one of the most quoted Christian authors. An interesting fact about him is that he was actually introduced to Christianity by another well known author J.R.R. Tolkien. For those of you who have read the Chronicles of Narnia and also The Lord of the Rings you will see a parallel of Christian beliefs mixed into the stories.

I love to read great authors and especially finding the inspiring quotes that really make me think. I have recently found this jewel of a quote by C.S. Lewis:

"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals who we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. this does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption."

People are not ordinary. None of us are. We are all immortal beings with immortal plans for our lives. We are all here for a purpose and we must all learn to respect our fellow immortals. Though we live in a mortal world we must remember that we are more and those around us are more. Never think less of yourself or of others around you. But remember to be happy to take joy in the fact that you are more then a mere mortal, because that my friend is why we are here. To learn, to grow, but also to be happy.

My Favorite Quotes

It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously. - Peter Ustinov

I love this quote. Through my experiences I have learned that the only real way to enjoy our lives, is to laugh. Most importantly laugh at yourself. When you do something dumb, don't turn bright red and try to hide, just laugh! Laughter relieves your own embarrassment. Plus all those people who are secretly hiding their laughter won't feel quite so bad about laughing too! (It's okay they still love you even when you are a klutz!)

No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately. - Michel de Montaigne

I constantly say something dumb. For example I was trying to explain to my roommate once how I often say stupid words that don't make any sense. I followed that by my sarcastic, "Yeah I'm real spart." I meant to say 'smart' only further proving my point that I can't speak.

There are only two ways that you can live. One is as if nothing is a miracle the other is as if everything is a miracle. I believe in the latter. -Albert Einstein

This quote sums up my view of life. I don't believe anything happens without a purpose or just randomly. If I didn't believe this I would have no point in going forward in life.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. - Henry David Thoreau

I like this quote because I often feel that I have never truly fit in with the other people my age. I always felt like I was different then them. Not in a good or bad way, just different. As if my life would always be different then theirs, because I saw things with a different perspective then they did.

Dear Lord,
So far today, I am doing all right.
I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self-indulgent. I have not whined, complained, cursed, or eaten any chocolate. I have charged nothing on my credit card.
But I will be getting out of bed in a minute, and I think that I will really need your help then.
- Anonymous

Why do I like this quote? Because it makes me laugh! And laughter is truly the best medicine!

The Things You Never Imagined

Have you ever woken up one morning and realized how different your life is compared to what you always pictured your life would be like? When you are young you have a vision of "your life" and somehow you can't imagine how it would ever be different.

I remember when I was younger I would watch all the twenty-year-olds and I would think they were so old and wise. They were married women with husbands, jobs, babies on the way, and people I could not relate to. I assumed when I was that age I would be the same as them. But that would be so far into the future it seemed impossible.

So here I am at twenty, and my life is nothing how I pictured. I am not married, no babies on the way, and I have recently switched majors. I don't even feel any older than I did when I was little. I still day-dream about my prince on his white horse. I still sometimes get afraid of the dark. I still imagine I'm a fairytale princess in a palace.

Sometimes it makes me laugh when I realize that I thought getting older would make me more of a wise grown-up. I feel just as confused about the world now as I did then. Actually I am more confused now, because I know more! I once heard a quote that said something about "the more you know, the more you realize you don't know".

Sometimes it makes me cry that my life isn't how I pictured it. It's much harder then I ever imagined. As a child you long to be older, as an adult you long to be like a child again. Innocent, naive, and life is simple.

But that's the point. Life was not made to be simple. If we knew how life was supposed to be, we wouldn't try, we wouldn't learn, and then what would are purpose be? Life is a challenge, a struggle, and constantly changing in ways we can't understand.

Yet even though it's hard, it's beautiful. When you step back to look at all you have accomplished, all you have learned, and all the beauty around you it makes it all worth it. Though you may cry yourself to sleep in the dark, a new and bright morning will always find you bringing hope.