September First

Oh.

It's James Sirius Potter's first time going to Hogwarts today. 

And Teddy Remus Lupin's last. 

And I'm very emotional about it?

It makes me feel very old. I only read the books... five years ago, maybe six, but they mean so much to me and there's so much beauty in them, and in the fandom and I just can't deal and on days like this it hits you with the fact that this story that means so much and feels so important isn't even real and it's just.... It's weird. 

On one hand, the power of the language, my friends. Can we talk about how amazing it is that we live in a world where symbols can be rearranged into words and sentences and paragraphs and make up beautiful, wonderful stories that can reach millions and millions of people all over the world?

And, going slightly more abstract, the fact that this story started with just one woman's idea? And then it spread and it caught on and then people could share this story and could see in their heads the way she saw it and then other people picked it up and transferred it from words on paper into a movie? And actors portrayed these characters, portrayed them so well that sometimes it's hard to differentiate between the two? 

And then there's all the fans, who make fanart (art pictured here is courtesy of Viria) and fanfiction and fanmusicals and start things like the Harry Potter Alliance, and it just blows my mind how one little story about a boy can literally change the world. 

This is why I love reading and writing and stories. 

And I'm just really emotional right now so excuse me while I go listen to the Harry Potter soundtrack and read Harry Potter and wear my Harry Potter t-shirt and drink butterbeer and pl an a Harry Potter movie marathon and rewatch A Very Potter Musical, A Very Potter Sequel, and A Very Potter Senior Year and look at Harry Potter fanart and join the Harry Potter Alliance because I adore this story and I adore how much good has come from this story. 

Disagreeing and Hating Are Not the Same

Dear Modern Culture,

Please learn this: Disagreeing and hating are not the same. Seriously.

There is a huge, huge, huge difference between hate and disagreement. I disagree with my family a lot, but that definitely doesn't mean I hate them. I disagree with my friends, but that doesn't mean I hate them.
So how come whenever someone gives an opinion that disagrees with popular belief, they are labelled as "hateful"? I genuinely don't understand this. (But, as I have often pointed out, there's a lot I don't understand about society and the world and modern culture.)

To put this in more understandable terms, Harry Potter hated Snape, Umbridge, and Voldemort.
He often disagreed with Dumbledore, Hermione, and Ron.
See the difference?
Good.

I'm not going to deny that some people can act hateful in the way they express their disagreement, but that is not always, not even often, the case.

So if someone could explain this phenomenon, I'd be grateful.

The End.