It's networking for a reason

There are so many new forms of communication out there that it is extremely difficult for people to fall out of touch with one another. Sometimes that can be a negative thing; however, I personally feel like social networking has affected personal relationships not only in a negative way but a positive way as well. Things are much different today than they were back when our grandparents were growing up. The only way to communicate back then was to send mail that the other person would receive days later. There is nothing wrong with this type of communication whatsoever, but now we are able to broaden our communication and personal relationships with those who are close to us by having all of these new networking sites. One of my least favorite excuses is "I've just been so busy." This is one of my least favorite excuses for the fact that we have all of these incredible ways of communicating that people should not have to lose contact with one another regardless of how far away the other person is. Facebook, for instance, helps me to stay in contact with family members who are in different parts of the world than I am. We are able to communicate and learn about one another so the next time we do see each other, things are less awkward and the small talk is already out of the way because we are already caught up on each other's lives. I think this is a huge asset to personal relationships. Also, without social networking, this course would be unavailable to all of us taking it. I personally feel like social networking has made a positive impact on personal intimacy.

Positives with Social Networking

                Social networking has affected the way people express their intimacy with one another. Many people focus on the bad ways that social networking has affected people, such as blaming different social networking sites for the actions of their unfaithful partners and an increase in divorce rates. Not all of the ways social networking has affected people are bad.

                Social networking has provided us with websites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to help us connect with our friends and family. Many friendships have rekindled with these social networking websites because friends who has lost touch can now reconnect. These websites would also be able to exchange more personal information such telephone numbers or an address as another way of continuing to keep in touch after finding one another again. Your friends and family can also be able to see what you update and how you’re doing in life at that moment. It keeps them informed and in a way, still connected to you. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter aren’t the only social networking that has affected the way people express their intimacy, dating websites have also became quite popular. Dating websites such as eHarmony, Match.com, and Christian Mingle have helped millions of individuals find their intimacy with a partner for life. Many have found love and others have been able to make connections with people who have become lifelong friends. Social networking hasn’t stopped there either. Social networking has also transferred in Apps to our Smartphones. Now, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, eHarmony, and hundreds of other social networking websites are just a click away! Having all of these websites as an app on our smartphones has increased the ability to be able to connect with people at all times. If someone didn’t have a cellphone, someone could easily get ahold of them through their Facebook app on their cellphone. People everywhere can have all access to all social networking websites that they choose. They are always able to stay connected with their friends and family members and increase their intimacy with whoever they want, whenever they want.  

Social Networking in Modern Society

Some social network platforms limit the amount of intimacy we experience with others, while others build stronger relationships. Sites geared towards rebuilding, reconnecting, and making relationships stronger include myheritage.com and classmates.com. These sites allows users to connect and share their life with family members and old classmates. The site that I will focus on for this post that limits intimacy is Facebook because many people are familiar with it. Although this site allows people to connect with many other people, organizations, and companies, there is no way to have a close relationship with every single person on a friend’s list. It is better to have a few close friends than many friends that are not intimate. Another aspect of this site that limits intimacy is that most people use it as their primary form of communication. Instead of meeting up with a person, they would rather write on a wall. Now of course this is convenient if the person you are communicating with is overseas or in another state. 

I have not used the apps that link people together, but they sound good for people looking to get together and not so much because your location is known. As more and more of the social networking sites are developed, there is less face-to-face communication. Even when people are face-to-face, they are stuck on their phones on a social network site communicating with someone else. This ruins the true intimacy we have personally while making the digital intimacy stronger. The people in our daily lives don’t deserve to be isolated because it is easier to communicate online.

Lets go back to the 1980s

       Let's go back to the 1980's when internet was not at an easy reach, texting was not part of communication and phones were only used in households. Some might say it is easier now to communicate with others, but another person may argue that they want to go back to the 80s where communication was more simple. During the 1980s, when one wanted to call their girlfriend in high school to go on a date they had to call the house and talk to their parents first.  Now, one can text or message each other on Facebook about meeting at the movies.

            Individuals definition of intimacy may consist of sending cute text messages or sending kissy face pictures. How is this intimacy? What happened to opening the door for your girlfriend, bringing flowers just because or writing a cute letter to your boyfriend? There are many relationships that consist mostly of sending messages and pictures, individuals might not even hear their significant other's voice for days on end. Whereas, I enjoy seeing my boyfriend and talking to him face - to - face.

            Facebook and Twitter can cause many affairs in relationships. Why? It is easy access to pictures, you can message whoever you want, post comments, and in the end just say someone hacked your account. No one has to takes responsibility for their actions on Facebook. A friend request to an old lover from high school is harmless, but once you start catching up with them and talking about personal stories things can change. The intimacy grows stronger and slowly can turn into an affair without the significant other even knowing you reached out to your old lover because it is all online.

            Social networking gives us a different side to intimacy through messages and pictures. Personally, I would rather see us go back to intimacy through face - to - face conversations and doing sweet things for another. 

Blog #6: Unit Reflection

After reading Amusing Ourselves to Death and watching The Social Network, respond to the following prompt in a 250-300 word entry. Your entry and two comments are due by Friday, October 3rd at 11:59pm.

How has electronic social networking affected forms of personal intimacy?

Don't write the "internet has destroyed intimacy" entry--that has been done already. Instead, aim to write about something specific and original, and keep in mind that these social networking platforms don't always "destroy" intimacy. For example, I just discovered that there is an entire dating site for cowboys looking for other cowboys! There's also a site for people who want to date African Americans only. And what about phone apps that link people together? The more specific you can be the better. Try to analyze one or two aspects of these social networking platforms in order to make a case about how they affect personal intimacy. And remember that personal intimacy can be defined in many ways (i.e., friendships, relationships, families, etc.).

Friendship

   The theme I chose to write about is friendship.  In the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone friendship is a key theme.  Harry is a young boy that has grown up without any friends.  He is treated very poorly by his aunt, uncle, and cousin.  When he is brought to Hogwart's he starts making friends and developing trust in others.  Harry's friendship with Ron happens almost immediately.  It takes him much longer to develop his friendship with Hermione.   She actually is very irritating to him until she proves herself as a loyal and trustworthy friend. 
     In my life I have two very loyal and amazing best friends, too.  One I have had since elementary school and one that has been brought into my life through her marriage to one of my family members.  I treasure both of them, but like Hermione and Ron they are very different and all of our differences are what makes our friendships so unique.  Harry learns the value of true friends and learns that he can depend on others because he has never been able to before.  Friendship is something that I treasure and I feel is very important in ones life.

Themes of the class

There have been several themes that we have looked at in this class but I seem to keep going back to our first assignment. When I read quiet it gave me an insight into myself and the fact that there are other people out there like me. I have learned from this what kind of person that I am and that I don’t have to feel quite so alone any more. I now l know that there are plenty of other people that can be shy and now know that it’s because they are introverts just like me. I am glad that I have been given the opportunity to read the book Quiet and learn more things about me and many other people. I am looking forward to the rest of this class and all of the other things that we are going to learn. I am going to always come back to this idea that I am an introvert and I will always find ways to connect it to each reading. No matter what I am always going to be brought back to these ideas and continue to find ways to relate to all of this. 

Good triumphs Evil

Having read all the Harry Potter books I chose to write about Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone/Sorcerers stone. The main theme in this book is perseverance, that you can overcome anything if you just don't give up. Throughout the book you see how Harry is faced with one thing after another, but he never gives up, even in situations that would cause most adults to turn the other way and run for the hills. Throughout all the books you see this, in many of the characters. Despite their great losses and the great challenges they face they carry on, and in the end succeed.

In the very beginning of the very first book Harry's parents are killed. Even this is part of the theme that despite everything he survived something that no one else had ever survived, that no one should have been able to survive, because of his mothers love. From the very first pages of the very first book to the final pages in the last book we see this theme played out.

Harry Potter

Having read Harry Potter my first thought was this is a kids book, I will not be interested.  I am happily surprised that it was a book I could not put down and will most assuredly continue reading.  If I could describe in one word Harry Potters life I would have to say "rough" and that is putting it mildly.  Not only does he lose his parents at the age of one but he is then placed in the worst home possible.  Living with the muggle family the Dursley's.  The Dursley's are quite obsessed with not talking about their own kin which happen to be wizards.  They go so far as to not even mention their names in their home.  So it comes to some surprise and horror when Mrs. Dursley opens the door one morning to find baby Harry on their steps.  The continuation of their negative attitudes about Harry just continue to follow Harry throughout his first decade of life and poor Harry was none the wiser for why they felt this way.  It is apparent that their love and devotion or should I say spoiling goes entirely to Dudley their son.  I can not imagine the fortitude it took for Harry to live day in and day out living in a small cupboard, being treated as a servant and taking the abuse the Dursley's dealt out to Harry on a daily basis.  This all begins to change for better before his eleventh birthday.

To say thing changed from rough to weird would be an exaggeration.  Having not been brought up to understand things about his family and their history.  Harry seriously questioned when Hagrid tells him about his being a wizard.  Changes enfold that make Harry's life open right up and gives him the insight as to why he is the way he is, makes the reasons his aunt and uncle were so rotten to him.  My thoughts are this is the beginning of Harry's life.  He now has a purpose and openly excepts what he is and sets out to claim his life as a wizard.  One lesson in life is don't let things get you down, pick your self up and dust yourself off and become stronger from it.  This is so true in Harry's story.

Family is what you make it

In Harry Potter, our first encounter with Harry's "family" the Dursley's, we are able to get a great depiction of  how Harry is treated compared to the rest of the Dursley's. Harry obviously means little to the Dursley's, and is treated as so, given very little living area as well as a severe lack of freedom. While we know that Harry is actually related to the Dursley's by Harry's mother, he is treated as if he is a third class citizen. To Harry, the Dursley's are not his real family, and we are able to see how Harry starts to form his own family throughout the book. Later in the book it becomes obvious that Harry has many people at Hogwarts who care about him, and would consider him as family. Hagrid as well as Ron are very notable in this aspect since both have treated Harry as family most of the way through the book. Hagrid is almost like a caring uncle to Harry as he tries to guide harry through the wizarding world, where Ron is more like a brother in which he can confide in. I believe that this theme is also prevalent in the way that Hogwarts is separated into separate houses, with even members of the same family in different houses.  At Hogwarts you are separated into houses based on your values, which also typically correlates to the people you hold close to you, which I find very interesting. While Harry may have gone to Hogwarts with what he had imagined was very few people caring about him, he quickly befriended many due to his always do good attitude.

Friendships may or may not last

The theme I chose was friendship. While reading the Harry Potter books I realized that Harry, Ron and Hermione have been friends for a very long time. I value friendships as well but I believe once I came to college everything started to change. Some friendships grew apart while many of them formed. Freshmen year in college I did not speak to many people I stayed to the same group of friends I knew from back home. This I regret because I could have formed other relationships with people I would have never expected. This being my junior year I have met so many new people and have branched out a little more and formed some lifetime friendships. Reading the Harry Potter books I learned that without friends you would not know some of your strengths or weaknesses. Your friends are there to build you up when you’re down and motivate you to do anything that you put your mind to.

Harry Friends

Looking into the Harry Potter series i can reflect on multiple things that has happened even though its n story of wizards. the point i want to touch on is the aspect of friends. Some people are introvert, while others are extrovert but through it all they can still come together and have a bond that no one could have expected. In Harry Potter I see this in the relationship between Harry and Ron.In the earlier books Ron is more clumsy and cant get a handle on his spells, while Harry is more laid back and very on top of his spells. Harry also comes from a rich background and have famous parents well known in Hogwarts, as he comes into Hogwarts and everyone has him pegged for greatness. According to social class or the way the real world is, a lot of people might have expected Harry to become friends with Draco before he would be friends with Ron just because of class. This connects to me on a very high level because i have different types of friends, with many different backgrounds. Harry did not see Ron as a lower class full blood wizard because of his wealth the way Draco did and Harry also didn't become friends with Draco because he had money. Its more of the person themselves that attract to each other and this is the point that i can relate to the most. People come from all different places, has all different struggles, and are into totally different things, but somehow can still come together see past all the difference to become the best of friends.

Just by selecting the right people can totally depict the outcome as in Harry Potter. If Harry would have chosen to be friends with Draco, Ron and Hermione wouldn't have saved him as many times as they did and he might have been killed. So i believe the friends you choose can actually have one of the biggest impacts on who you become and this goes into accounts for the negative and the positive impacts.

Personality

There are so many things that I could have picked to write about in this blog entry but, when it came right down to it, there is one common idea in all of the stories.  The most outstanding theme that we have looked over so far this semester is the many different personalities in the stories and in all of us.  The character is what I look at the most.  I have always been fascinated with people, how they act and how they handle different situations. 

In each of our stories, books and movies that we have read and watched in this class we see the ability of people to overcome numerous issues.  It seems not to matter what type of personality each character has, they always are able to find some type of solution for their problem at hand.  For example, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, each character is extremely different but they each have very good solutions to many problems that arise.  That speaks worlds about humanity and our ability to persevere.  Each individual handles situations in different manners but the end result is usually the same, the character survives the issue. 

We all have been confronted with problems in our lives and we have all used our strengths, as different as they may be, to overcome those situations.  Quiet, the Power or Introverts describes how introverts and extroverts act and handle things.  I, however, think there are many other combinations to individual personalities.  No two people will ever completely agree on every topic.  What I take away from all of this is that the more we observe of different personalities and the more we study how each individual handles issues the better of we will be.  If we take pieces from each person and character and form them to our own we will be able to adapt and survive any catastrophic event that may arise.

The Harry Potter Class System

Throughout my reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone I noticed many themes involving loyalty, desire, and rebellion. Most of the character’s actions encompassed these themes. I, however, picked up on a theme that might not be so obvious—class. While the wizarding world sometimes comes off as a utopia, everything in perfect harmony except for that dark wizard who gets into some nasty business, there are issues amongst wizards. Just like ordinary people, muggles, there are conflicts of class.

First, there are classes of ethnicity—not racially, but rather pure blood wizards versus muggle-born wizards versus mixed blood wizards. Muggle-born wizards are considered the bottom of the totem pole, and thought to be less competent wizards. Pure bloods hold themselves up very high, and the attitudes remind of the views from the racially torn America in the 1960’s. You can see this in the way that Draco Malfoy, a pure blood wizard, treats Hermione Granger, muggle-born. Granger proves the ideas of incompetency to be inaccurate when she shows off her knowledge and exemplifies a great wizard with completed spells.

Next, there are class divides with money, just like in the muggle world. Draco Malfoy’s family is rich, and treats Ron Weasley differently even though they are both pure blood families. Weasley is thrown off by how much money Harry Potter’s family has because of how Harry treated Ron during their first meeting. These divides remind me of how segregated we as humans still manage to keep each other. Despite our backgrounds, there are still class separations among us. In the book, and throughout the series, the class system causes underlying conflicts for the characters.

Harry Friends

Having read through the first four Harry Potter books about 10 years ago, I was excited to check out the first one again with an “aged” perspective, and knowledge of how the characters turn out. Reexamining just how bad it was for Harry makes me appreciate his character arc even more. He’s forced to live with his ignorant aunt and uncle due to the murder of his parents. He has to live with and abide by the rules of “guardians” that do nothing but ridicule and neglect him, while locking him in his room, and showing nothing but ignorance towards his realizations as to shelter him. They may have been alright when he was little, but they are just short of monsters towards him when he starts to learn things about himself.

                The great thing is that there’s something to put him on the right track, his friends. The story would have ended very early had Harry not gotten out of his room and on the way to school. His friends rescue him, and then continue to support him throughout everything. They’re his true driving force. Parents, or guardians, set the groundwork for what we become, but the friends we choose are really who pave our paths. Friends influence our interests and choices, and the true ones are always there for you.  It’s interesting to think about the differences in my life thus far had certain friends not been there, or had I befriended different people. Every interest and opinion I've formed in 20 years would likely be different in some way.

Reflecting

I think the thing I’ve noticed most about our work this semester is how much it has made me reflect on my own life. Quiet, Winter’s Bone, and Harry Potter have all made me connect it to my own life in one way or another. It started with Quiet for obvious reasons. Susan really asked you to analyze yourself and answer some questions to determine if you were an introvert or extrovert. After a lot of thinking and taking the short quiz I determined I was more of an introvert. Just doing this however, made me realize the difference between myself now and myself a couple years ago in high school. I believe I was more of an extrovert during that time and more of an introvert now for a few different reasons.

Winter’s bone was not easy for me to relate to my own life mainly because mine is very far from Ree’s. What watching this movie did do for me, however, was make me thankful for what I have and how hard my parents have worked to get me to where I am. After watching the movie I tried to look at my life as a whole and it really made me love and appreciate everything I have.

Harry’s story did somewhat of the same thing for me. I cannot relate to how Harry was treated in the beginning but it again made me grateful. Although this book made me think about my life it made me think about my best friend’s life a little bit more. Harry clearly had it rough growing up and so did my friend. I really just think it’s amazing that people can have such a crappy start to their lives and somehow make the best out of it and grow up to be great people. There’s nothing I like seeing more than a person coming from nothing and ending up something awesome because they worked hard and wanted better for themselves.

A Quiet Courage

              I think a theme that has been present in every work that we have looked at so far is a quiet courage.  None of the main characters in the books or movie we watched were loud and outgoing people.  No one would look at them and call them brave.  Yet all did extraordinary things that required great courage from them.

                Look for a moment at the story about Laura in the introduction of Quiet.  She was a million miles out of her comfort zone when forced to handle a case against a team of intimidating bankers and their cutthroat lawyer.  For Laura, this situation was almost more than she could handle.  Finally, she reached deep down inside herself and found her quiet strength.  She got up the nerve to speak up and succeeded in her efforts.  She found the courage inside to do what was required of her.

                Ree, in Winter’s Bone, is another example of a quiet person who showed impressive courage.  The very fact that she is so young, and raising her younger siblings, takes more courage than most of us have.  Beyond that, she puts herself in danger repeatedly, trying desperately to find her father and keep her family safe.  She attempts to join the army to provide for her family.  She even goes with the women who beat her so violently knowing they may very well kill this time.  She takes this risk because she has too if she wants to find her father.  You know she is scared because she opens the door with a gun in her hand, but she sums up every ounce of courage she can and goes to do what most of us never could.

                In Harry Potter and the Sorcerers’ Stone, Harry is another quiet person who shows surprising courage many different times.  The most courageous time during his first year at Hogwarts is arguably the time he defeated Voldemort in the secret chamber and recovered the sorcerers’ stone.  This final act of courage he did alone without the help of his friends who had been forced to turn back earlier.  He saved the wizard world when other, more boisterous wizards, could not.

Intriguing Encounters

  While normally I would have found many intriguing encounters this semester. I can honestly say none of my classes are even in the remote category of over lap. Before the semester started I had many odd encounters, that forced me to change the class schedule I had picked last semester. This semester happens to be my second to last semester so sadly I am just down to being able to take classes that hold an interest with me, and a few required classes. I am thankful for the break in themes in classes though, when I was first starting sometimes the themes of all the classes over-lapping I would get bored with it sometimes and have to look for new ways to try and make it interesting when all I wanted to do was sleep because it did seem way more repetitive than any one person should have to deal with. The plus side too most of your classes overlapping is that if one professor doesn't seem to quite drive the explanation home most likely the next one will explain the concept in a way that will just click and you will be able to understand both classes much better. I was excited when this situation happen to me, it ended up helping me way more than I thought it would having such overlap in classes but looking back I was glad I had that for several semesters. I notice this happens more within your core classes, not that it doesn't happen in some gen ed classes

Harry Potter

Like many other students in this class I was very excited to see that we would be able to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. When I was younger and the books first came out I was not a huge Harry Potter fan as some others were, however now that I am reading the book once again I seem to enjoy it more for one reason or another. While reading I had noticed that characters were either extrovert or introvert, however I did not think to much about that fact and kept on reading. It was not until later that I put more thought into things and also read a fellow student's post that I realized certain characters tended to be introvert while others tended to be extrovert. Harry and his friends seem to be introvert for the most part and seek things within themselves while the extrovert characters went to outside sources to try to find what they were looking for. I have never been one to look into what I am reading a great degree while I am actually reading it. I often look back on things after the fact and attempt to decipher what it is that has happened and why. I do not know that J.K Rowling sat down and listed which characters he wanted to be introvert and extrovert, but I am sure that he at least entertained the thought of having a mixture of each throughout his writing. Being a writer at such a high level does not often come without intentionally doing such things to some degree.

A Quest for Knowledge

I could imagine Susan Cain, the author of Quiet, being comfortably curled up by a fireplace reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If she were to read it, I wonder if she would think back to her own book.  After reading both of these books, I could not help but think about some of the unlikely similarities these two characters share. While Harry Potter definitely has an exciting story about him, Susan Cain went on her own quest.

Cain and Potter were both constantly seeking knowledge as they went along in their journey. Potter was immersed in a brand new world, one full of things he had never seen, bursting with magic and excitement. Cain on the other hand was exploring a different side of a world she has lived in her entire life. She was trying to find out what sets apart an introvert and an extrovert. By doing this she had to go to unfamiliar territory. While a Tony Robbins convention may not be as frightening as the forbidden forest, for some introverts it might be just as intimidating.

Both character’s journeys lead to them to going to a school. While Cain’s trip to Harvard was a bit more temporary then Potter’s stay at Hogwarts, she still got the opportunity to get some insight into the topic she was seeking. She spoke with several professors who all helped her along her path and by the end of her trip she took a big step in seeing the difference between good and evil… I mean introverts and extroverts.

Invisible.

     In our readings so far, the theme that I was most able to relate to was that of being an introvert. As Susan Cain points out in her book, Quiet, those of us with an introverted personality are not socially dominant. More often than not we are assumed to be antisocial, unfriendly, and sometimes socially unacceptable. Today it is favorable to be outgoing, almost even aggressive. We can’t all be that way, everyone is different. When did it become so wrong to not constantly be in the middle of everything? Why do people treat me like some sort of pariah, when all I have done is keep to myself?

     I have attended three different universities in my college career, a new one each fall, because I can’t seem to fit in anywhere. No matter where I go, or how hard I try to make friends, I don’t connect with people very well. When I do make an effort to meet someone new, or when I am forced to work in a group setting, I always come off as very awkward and uninterested. What people don’t understand is, that’s not the case. I prefer to be thorough in my work and my thoughts, and I do not want to share or discuss that material until I am completely happy with it. For this reason, I often end up getting ignored, even when I do finally speak up. Participation grades outrage me in college classes, because how am I supposed to give any insight to the conversation when there are a dozen other people screaming out half-developed answers and ideas? I cannot talk over them. I would be mortified. And group projects are another one of my particular distastes because I always seem to end up with that partner that thinks he or she is indefinitely correct about everything, so I can’t ever get a word in anyway.

     My troubles as an introvert follow me into my work life as well. Ironically, I wait tables and bartend at a local restaurant. On the slow days where I have just a few regular customers, I love my job. I can provide them all with quality service, and even squeeze in a few minutes to visit with the ones I know fairly well. Sometimes I come across someone passing through or on vacation that has some exciting experiences to share. That is the beauty of a small-town restaurant, it’s quiet and personal. The weekends are a different story. I hate them. The place gets overcrowded, and I seriously have to wade through the tables to wait on people. I have a rather large personal space and quickly lose patience when I am forced to constantly brush up against people and have to all but scream the night’s specials to be heard over the noise.

     I often wonder if I will succeed upon graduation, or if I will be stuck with a low-paying job forever because of my introvertedness. Many employers want that outgoing personality in their employees and I just don’t have it. I can produce high quality, detailed work, but I fear that it will be overlooked because I am not “the right type.” It’s very unsettling to know that my future may be affected by my social awkwardness. These fears have begun to build up into social anxiety, almost to a clinical point. Anymore, I’m almost afraid to express my thoughts even through writing because if people can’t accept me in person, why would they accept me in writing? Over the past few years, I feel like I have become invisible. In high school, I was the captain of my basketball and soccer teams, as well as the varsity club president and a member of the national honors society. Today, I am no one. I am not heard, I am not noticed.

Perserverance

     J.K. Rowling's set of Harry Potter books are some of my favorite reads I have encountered so far.  Starting in the first of the series perseverance is a common theme.  Harry, who comes from an extremely difficult background does not allow anything to get in his way.  Although new to the magical world he meets every challenge with unwavering strength and perseverance. He does not fully understand the capabilities and dangers of magic and his new life but yet he drives on to get to the answers he needs.  Harry is a new wizard and able to practice minimal magic at best, yet he drives on with his group of misfits to uncover the evil plans going on within Hogwarts.  The group  faces seemingly impossible tasks and even with the threat of death or even worse, being expelled they pull through with their combined strengths to uncover things that even fully experienced wizards and witches could not.  All of this and not to mention his childhood, he makes it through attempted murder by one of the most powerful and evil wizards and also survives an abusive home situation.  In one book this author shows how strong Potter and his sidekicks can be and theme only strengthens throughout the series.  It is in many ways a great lesson to those who struggle.
     I was so excited when I realized we got to read Harry Potter for this class.  The series is so wonderful, it takes you away to a make believe place but yet has many parallels to real life.  Harry Potter is an abused child, in no way is his home life acceptable. Regardless of magic or no magic Harry shows impeccable character and faces every struggle with courage and perseverance.  Yes, he has a good group of friends to help him but imminently it is on him to do what is necessary.  Harry shows that life can knock you down but with friends and family you can persevere to become something great.

The Planner Life

This semester I have found myself being even busier with school, work and other organizations I am involved in then in the past. time management is a of mine that I have developed over the past two years being here at Mansfield. When I was a freshman, I had two sets of calendars. One was a print piece of paper on my cork board with sticky notes all over trying to remember everything. I quickly found out that it was very difficult to keep everything in line and make sure everything was done correctly and on time. I then got a planner which helped some but I still used the other calendar and sticky notes. Fall semester my sophomore year, I invested in a small planner that I took to all my classes and kept my homework in. I was starting to put more of class assignments in the month part of it so I could get a reference of when things were due and then I started putting my work schedule in it and activities. By the spring of my sophomore year I was highlighting things to keep them organized and kept everything in the one little book. I am not a junior and I invested in a big planner this year to keep everything even more organized and I have found that some of the stress I had had diminished form being more organized and being aware of when I had things due and when I had work earlier on instead of the day before. I still highlight my book and keep all my homework assignments, work days, and activity schedules in there but now everything is in one place. The only issue I have found with this is that if something were to ever happen to the book I wouldn't know what to do with myself because my life is in this book. 

Playing to the Right Beat

     To shed some light on myself, I thoroughly love to entertain others. It brings me such joy to see the joy in others and most of the time that is the payment I receive. One medium of entertainment I like to express is music or more specifically marching band. I have been in marching drumline for roughly eight years now and each year has brought a new approach to me as a musician. For my first three years of high school I marched bass drum and marched quad drums my senior year. Since my high school lacked cymbal line I decided to join that when I started marching here at Mansfield. When I marched quads in high school I felt confident that I had understood them and wondered whether or not I should try out for them at MU. Unfortunately, over the next three years listening to the quads I was almost sure I wasn’t fit to play them at a collegiate level. To those unaware of the challenge marching drum have, believe me it is very difficult. There are many stick variations that can be very hard to comprehend if you cannot think in a rhythmic mindset. So I felt I would never reach higher than a high school level that is until this year.

     This year during the tryouts I managed to be placed as a quad player for MU. I was both excited but also afraid that I would not be able to do it. Up until this semester I hadn’t played quads for three years and those first couple practices showed. Many times I felt I wasn’t going to be able to continue but something strange happened. One day I just clicked and even though I can’t hit every note, how I play now and how I played at beginning of the semester was surprisingly different. I can play at a collegiate level now and I feel so great about it. It gave me a sense of inspiration and drive to learn other things as well. This set in stone a philosophy that I have been living by for some time now: whatever you do, there will always be someone better than you at it, but that ok because eventually you will reach that level and quite possibly surpass them as long as you don’t give up along the way. If you feel like seeing the band perform it would definitely be worth your while and I would love to entertain for you like all the other members in the band. 

The struggles in life

We all face different struggles through out our lives. Some of us struggle with relationships, finances, academics, communication, diet, and list goes on and on. For Harry Potter, he struggles with identifying himself. Because his parents died when he was a baby, he was raised by his horrible aunt and uncle. He is neglected and abused on a daily basis, which makes it difficult for him to realize how great he is. I have had many friends who have grown up with alcoholic, drug abusing parents, who have turned out to achieve greatness. Our struggles and obstacles, help us to become the best versions of ourselves. Personally I have never really struggled with academics or family. Sometimes we take our lives for granted and we need to be reminded of our blessings so we can remain humble. Hearing and seeing others suffer makes me feel grateful for what I have. I have always had great support system at home and school. Without my family and friends I don't know where I would be today. I have put a lot of work into achieving my goals. For achieving my dream career goals, I am half way there. I hope we all can achieve our dreams and remember the struggles  that we had to over come to make those dreams a reality.  

Real Life vs. Harry Potter

Something I found very interesting and worth noting while reading Harry Potter was his power over the sorting hat during the opening ceremony when the student first got to Hogwarts. Harry was so nervous and fearful that he would be placed in Slytherin. He kept repeating in his head “not Slytherin, not Slytherin” and the hat spoke to him about his greatness and how well he might do as a Slytherin. But because Harry spoke up, the hat took his opinion into consideration and placed him in Gryffindor, which we all know was a historical moment for Hogwarts. 

This part of the story has always had an impact on me, it parallels to the fact that we live our lives with our own free agency. We all make our own paths in life, we choose what we want, how we react, the way we choose to live. I would like to think if I had been in that sorting ceremony that I could have helped with the decision of where I would be placed in the school. We have the power over our own lives. 

Harry made a home at this school, and from the very beginning we see why it was such a happy place for him, even with all of the life threatening things that happened while he was there. Although it may have been dangerous, the teachers looked out for their students as parents should. Although he lost loved ones, he had a real bed and ate good food. I imagine my son as a teenager thinking I’m an awful parent because I’m looking out for his best interests and I hope one day he will see that everything I did for him I did out of love, the same way I look at the way my parents raised me.