Harry Potter Life Lessons

So, if you don't know me you may not know my unyielding love for the Harry Potter franchise. I am 25 years old and therefore am of the "Harry Potter generation". I grew up at the same rate as these characters. I felt as though I was one of them. I have spent days on end discussing the minutia of the books with people that probably didn't care as much as I do. I first started reading them when a certain librarian friend of my mother's (whom I adored but is unfortunately no longer with us) gave me The Philosopher's Stone (that's how awesome she was. She knew about them before the US release!) because she thought I'd enjoy it. Could she even have predicted how much? Later on, my legally blind grandfather (who is one of my heroes and who is also no longer with us) began listening to the Jim Dale audiobooks. I think that's where the obsession began: sitting in my grandparents' living room, Grandaddy sitting in his recliner about 2 feet from the 300 inch TV, the ancient tape deck gurgling out Jim Dale expertly describing the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione. My grandfather did not get to read The Deathly Hallows. In life he always said the first thing he was going to ask God when he got to heaven was whether or not Richard III was guilty of killing those kids (really and truly I am his granddaughter). I'd like to think his second question would have been "IS SNAPE EVIL?!".

As I'm in this transitional period of my life, I have begun to look at the stable forces in my life for support. I've spoken of some of them in previous blogs: friends, family, and the "simple" act of writing this blog. But I have also gone back to things that I love that have been major influences. Shakespeare, Gilmore Girls, Jane Austen, and of course, Harry Potter. While the stories were important to me for the several reasons that I mentioned before, I realize now that they shaped how I see the world today (and not just a "I wish I was British" kind of way, although that's certainly part of it). So, without further ado: The top 10 things I learned from Harry Potter (10 being the least significant, 1 the most)*.

*I am aware that there are many lists like this out there, having read most of them myself. I may take from some of them, but for the most part, this is my own.

10. Girls... don't go to the bathroom alone.
          For realz, ladies.
 


9. I wish I was born British (I said it was part of it)
    I'm a complete anglo-phile. I mean, I have two degrees in Shakespeare. My dream is to move to England, marry a British man so that my children will have what I didn't have. I can't find a clip of it, but in Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride there's a moment when the dead people and the living people are approaching one another and a little boy runs forward and every sort of gasps like "NO!" and then he pauses and shouts "Grandpa!" in the most adorable British accent ever and everything is ok and the living and the dead begin to co-exist. That's what I want. Not the co-existence of zombies and the living, but I want that little boy's voice to say to my future husband in his winter years "Grandpa!"

8. Being a Ginger makes you a bad-ass (and incredibly attractive)
      Come on. Everyone wants to be a Weasley. Also, in reference to number 9, that British man with whom I am having grandchildren will be a Ginger. My bathroom trash has been filled with red hair dye bottles since Sophomore year of high school and I blame JK Rowling for that (and The Little Mermaid).



7. Don't trust it if you can't see where it keeps its brain.
      This goes for people too. If there is no evidence that they have a brain... don't trust them. If you're on a date and you go to their house and they don't have books... LEAVE. Thank you for that wise sentiment Mr. Weasley.

6. Pets are really important.
      They can either be good (Crookshanks, Hedwig, Fawkes) or THE WORST (Wormtail) but nonetheless, you should keep them because they may often be the only ones listening.


5. Trust Dumbledore
    The man was always right. Even though it turned out he was kind of using Harry... he was right. And he knew that Harry was strong enough to survive. In fact, I think the last words Dumbledore says to Harry on the astronomy tower are "Trust me".  So, my advice is to think about who the Dumbledore in your life is. Its the person that always has those little nuggets of wisdom that sound like they came out of a quote-a-day calendar. They're the person that, when they aren't around, shit hits the fan. This is also the person that has an air of "I just know better than you, so don't mess with me" about them. Figure out who that person in your life is and listen up.

4. Memories are important.
    Even if they're bad. Maybe especially if they're bad. You have to hold on to the good memories to remember what life is all about, but some of the bad ones are the reason you grow and learn and ultimately vanquish the darkness in your life.

3. You can lose your soul to material things.
     Voldemort... maybe you should have put your faith into some of those followers of yours instead of your lame diary.



2. There's no Hogwarts without Hagrid.
    This is just a fact.

1. Don't be afraid of love. It will save your life.
    I know Dumbledore is all about love and stuff, but seriously, see number 5. Ultimately it is what the book is all about (duh). Voldemort lived without love in his life and he was defeated by it. Harry was literally saved by his mother's love and then again and again by the love of his friends and surrogate family.  That is a sub lesson to be learned from this overarching theme: family is essential. Even if you don't have a blood relative to call your own, find people you love and trust and never let them go.  And on the flip side of that, let go of relationships that hurt. If it doesn't feel good, it isn't a good relationship (thank you Michelle Obama). It isn't enough to love others, you have to let other people love you too.

And with that, I'm going to go make a cup of hot chocolate and watch The Sorcerer's Stone because it has been snowing like crazy all day and that's just what you do and Harry Potter movies are Christmas movies. ABC Family says so.



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