Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge - Days 3-5

Apologies for missing a couple of days. Life got busy so I had to postpone. So, I will be doing three days today and then three tomorrow and after that, fingers crossed, I'll be able to stay on track!

Day 3 - Least Favorite Book
This is a hard one for me because I love all the books so much. So understand that when I say Chamber of Secrets is my least favorite, I still love it. I don't have any hugely specific reasons of why it's my least favorite other than it's just never been one to hold my attention as much as the others. Probably the only real specific reason I have is that this book contains the character of Gilderoy Lockhart. He is without a doubt the most annoying character in all of the books and not always in a good way. He has his moments where is obnoxiousness is comedic and it works well with the story but there are a lot of other moments where I just want to smother him with a pillow and have done with it. So while there are aspects of the book that I really, he kills other parts for me. Still a wonderful book though!

Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge - Day 2

The Hogwarts Express has come and gone, the newest witches and wizards have been sorted into their respective houses so it's on to day two of the challenge!

Day 2 - Favorite Book
Choosing a favorite book is hard, I'm honestly the worst when it comes to having to choose my favorite anything and I love every single book. But if I absolutely had to choose, it would be the 3rd

book in the series: The Prisoner of Azkaban. It's always been one of my favorites but it took me a while to really pinpoint why I loved it so much. One reason is that it's such a pivotal book in the series, in my opinion. You have some very important characters introduced that play some major rules both in Harry's life and in the other books. And one of those characters introduced happens to be one of my favorite adult characters: Remus Lupin. His kindness, sincerity, and just overall goodness make him an amazing character and I really love how his relationship with Harry develops throughout the book. The book also introduces us to Hippogriffs which happen to be one of my favorite magical creatures. But probably the aspect that took me longest to figure out is that this is the last book where we see our main characters happy. Obviously there are some serious ups and downs and it's not all sunshine and daisies, but the following books take a much darker turn. Here we have Harry discovering that Sirius and Lupin were best friends with his father. We see his joy at not only having

that connection to his parents, but also finding out that Sirius is his godfather and he know has people who care about him. It's that tangible link to his parents that he's longed for. And finally, I love this book because it introduces the Patronus charm. Rowling has stated multiple times that the Dementors that first appear in this book represented her depression. As someone who has now struggled with serious depression for years, I really liked the idea of using happiness, a happy memory, to combat the soul sucking darkness that threatens to obliterate everything positive. I found it to be an encouraging reminder that depression can be defeated or at least held at bay.

Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge - Day 1

Since I am once again doing a dismal job of keeping up with this blog, I figured I would do something fun to get me back into the habit. If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you will recall that I did something very similar back in 2014 with Lord of the Rings prior to the final Hobbit movie premiere. Yes, it's actually been almost four years since then. I can't quite wrap my head around that. In any case, while the Lord of the Rings trilogy remains both my favorite movies and favorite books, the Harry Potter books have long ranked as a second favorite. Since it's the first of September, this seemed an appropriate way to kick off the month. If you have never read Harry Potter, you seriously should because the series is truly amazing and there is far more to it than just magic, but if you are disinclined just be aware that there will be spoilers. So without further ado, here is the beginning of the Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge.

Day 1 - How Did You First Get Into Harry Potter
Ironically, my parents are the ones who actually got me into Harry Potter, ironic because I grew up going to church and what not and most Christians have an issue with the Harry Potter books. That

still puzzles me because I've read a fair number of Christian books in the past that also included magic and yet those were somehow acceptable. But I won't get into that. So my parents got me the first three books for Christmas one year shortly after the third book came out, if memory serves. I remember not being entirely thrilled with the gift because even then if something was super popular, I tended to avoid it. Although I was a bit young for them when the first book came out, I was old enough when my parent's gave them to me to relate to the characters and really connect with them. Plus, it also introduced me to a totally different culture and country which was more than a little awesome. And, obviously, once I actually read the books, I fell completely in love with them and though they're more than a tad worn, I still have the copies my parents gave me.

Insanity

Am I insane? I'm pretty sure I'm insane. What is it that suddenly makes us decide to do what we've been afraid to do for ages? Why today of all days after years spent talking about getting the hell out of New Mexico and moving to Colorado did I finally find the courage to apply to not one, but two jobs in Durango? I have not a single clue. But I did it. It's done. Am I crazy for just going for it? Um, yeah, definitely. But I'm tired of hating my life, tired of hating where I'm living. I'm 27 years old, dammit. I should be out living my life, but here I am stuck in a city that I hate and a life that is unfulfilling. I keep feeling like if I get that magic degree, suddenly my life will be set. But I've been in school for a long time and more and more I'm wondering if I really need it. Maybe I put that on hold. Maybe I actually get out there and live my life, get out of my comfort zone and at some point in the future I'll go back to school. Or maybe I'll look at getting my degree through an online college which would be a plus because then I wouldn't have to deal with people. Can you tell that I'm anti-social?

I've lived in my comfort zone for so long that I don't even know how to live outside it. I've depended and lived with my parents for so long that the idea of being independent is both terrifying and exciting. Because this won't be like last time. Last time when things got hard, I was able to move back in with my parents with no issue. But if this all works out, if I actually make it up to Durango, it's not going to be so easy. I'm going to have to actually be an adult. Take responsibility and all that. There's not going to be a net underneath to catch me if I fall.

So, I guess, here's to a potential new beginning and getting out of comfort zones and living a little.

Future, What Future?

What do you do when you begin to wonder if you're truly cut out for the career path you've started down? What do you do when you begin to question everything that you've been striving for? It seemed so clear initially, everything made sense. But as time passes, it becomes less and less clear. I went for the more practical career, the one that was respectable and made sense. I've always loved animals, always been good with them. But the science of it all makes my head spin, makes it hard to enjoy what I'm doing. So I start to wonder, is it for me. And then I come back to, god, what a failure I would be again if I gave it up with just two semesters to go. But then, what does it say when I dread going back and trying to wrap my mind around all these complex procedures. I love animals, but is that enough? And more and more, I'm thinking not. I find the science interesting, fascinating even, but the understanding of it often eludes me.

The Past Is The Past Is The Past

Over the past couple of days, I've been slowly sorting through the innumerable pictures I have on my Facebook account. When I was younger, I had a tendency of uploading every picture I took so I found myself going through many many albums with way too many pictures, some of them not even good pictures. It was supposed to be a relatively quick job. You know, download the few albums that I wanted from birthdays and trips and junk most of the rest. What I wasn't expecting was the influx of memories and to an extent emotions that the process has unleashed. Because the farther back I go, the more comments and likes that I've found, comments from people that I don't even talk to or see anymore. It's a strange feeling to see how many friends I used to have that I laughed with, shared inside jokes with, and just hung out with. I find it kind of ironic thinking of all the people who think homeschool kids are unsocial. I had way more of a social life back then than I do now.