Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Just finished this book a few moments ago. It's definitely a book that I couldn't put down when I picked it up yesterday. It's a fairly easy read being play format and though it lacks depth...it was still a heart wrenching and amazing addition to the series. 

I'll be careful to not give any spoilers so those of you who stumble upon this post and have not read the book won't be spoiled. If you were expecting a ton of action and seeing all of your favorite characters back with the same fearlessness and taste for adventure as the previous books then you are mistaken. I feel that that's what many of us were expecting, a type of new beginning or pickup with a brand new arc. 

This book is different, set nineteen years after the battle where the main characters are now all settled with families and careers. It was fascinating to see the transition of what nineteen years can do to these characters we love so much. The book revolves mostly on Harry's youngest son, Albus and the struggle between a father and son's relationship. In other words: it's a journey of Harry's experience of how to be a good father to a son who is like a reflection of himself during his childhood and years at Hogwarts. Harry who never really had a father or knew how to be father to his children and everyday it's a learning experience for him. 

The second father and son relationship that is talked majorly about in this book is Draco and his son Scorpius. Draco who had never gotten any type of love or affection from his father and in result doesn't know how to communicate with his own son. 

Here's a dialogue segment from the book from Draco in which he is saying to Harry that touches me: "Love blinds. We have both tried to give our sons, not what they needed, but what we needed. We've been so busy trying to rewrite our own pasts, we've blighted their present."

Parents are always trying to give the best to their children not realizing it was not what they needed but what the parents needed. Both Harry and Draco wanted to change their own pasts through their sons hoping it would make things different which is sad but I feel every parent is like that nowadays in reality.

I've always felt that Harry and Draco were the two characters throughout the series that carried the most burdens and pain. They hated each other and were enemies but after all these years in this new installment--you will get to see how they both struggle to be good fathers and how they struggle to learn how to show love and affection to their sons. 

Other than the huge emphasis on parenthood and the importance of friendship during light and dark times. There is another aspect of the story that touched me deeply and that is the meaning of life that echoes throughout every act and scene in the book. Every parent wants to protect their children from all types of harm, small and big, and in the magic world that Rowling has created-- parents would do anything for their children to shield them from harm including sacrificing their own lives It's admirable but it's not always the right thing to do. 

Dumbledore says this to Harry in the book: "We cannot protect the young from harm. Pain must and will come." "No, you're supposed to teach him how to meet life." 

Harry and all the characters were protected during their young days in some way that was sometimes not obvious to the reader or characters themselves. They were protected indirectly in my opinion sometimes but most of the time...Dumbledore allowed Harry and his friends to experience and meet life as it came to them and letting them experience pain and harm in order for them to grow and learn from mistakes and build their own morals and foundation. 

I felt that I have already said too much. All in all this was an amazing read and it was so fulfilling to see all my favorite characters all so grown up and mature. 

I did wish it was in novel format rather than a play to give it more depth but that may never happen. I also wouldn't mind if Rowling one day decides to write a small trilogy about Albus, James, Rose, Scorpius and the new gang. The book wasn't enough to satisfy for me. 

I am planning to watch the Harry Potter movies all over again because this book brought up my feelings for the characters again and I was like ahhh I must watch the movies again! I miss them! 

Hope you enjoyed my thoughts!

The Purpose Of Marriage Nowadays

I am sorry to say that from what I have witnessed and experienced is that marriage is not spiritual or special in anyway any longer. True love exists and some people do fall in love with their significant other and to them marriage is the most important step in their relationship and will open new adventures and strengthen their shared love for each other until they die. They will accept the flaws and bad habits of the others and not abandon the other under any circumstances. They will try and try until anymore effort is fruitless to save their love. Love is what they prize above everything else and for those who feel that way in their current relationships... I applaud you guys and give my best wishes and prayers. 

 

Back on subject. The purpose of marriage for the majority of people know is only for finical relief. Everyone is now immersed in debts, loans, mortgages, insurance policies, and regular bills. The price of lifestyle is so high now wherever you go that it's impossible for an average person making say for example $12 dollars/40 hours or less a week to handle. I am within that circle and I can honestly say after rent, bills, debt payments are subtracted from my checks...there is not much left for myself. 

It doesn't matter how much you make because the prices of everything is going up such as housing, food, daily hygiene necessities, and taxes. You will find yourself overwhelmed. I feel that more money someone makes-- the more they cannot resist the urge to splurge such as buying: high end clothes, living in a high end neighborhood, buying things you don't really need.  

Marriage has turned into a type of contract between two people. Where they examine the other's finical background and what can they bring to the table closely before determining if they are the right spouse for them or not. It's a sad truth and many of the times there is no love between them other than business. 

How many of you would marry for finical stability and relief ? How many of you would marry for true love? How many men with good paying jobs would marry someone who makes less than half of what they make ? How about women? Is love more important or money?

Creative Piece: Loved Ones

(This is dedicated to a coworker who passed away recently and also to those who've lost loved ones).


We thought we had all the time in the world to spend with
those we met,
those we connected with,
those who made us laugh and cry,
those that made us furious and happy,
those that we would never want to part with,
those that we would apologize to,
those that we would take back hurtful words and actions for,
those that we shared similar morals with, and
those we loved and cared for.
Sadly, we miscalculated and
the hands of time won't turn back this time.

Fate is a sneaky little beast.
It took you way too soon, way too sudden.
It snuck up behind us and took from us
the very sunlight in our lives,
the very source of our strength and courage,
the advisor of our lives,
the genuine friend from our embraces,
the compass we relied on so heavily,
the bond we valued so much,
the strong wall that we were able to fall back on.
What will we do without you?

We lament,
we curse at the heavens,
we curse at ourselves,
we curse at life,
we lament at a great life ended too soon,
we lament at the unjust of fate,
yet nothing can bring you back.

You left us with a gift that
fate nor gods can ever take away.
That gift is
your warmth in which we hold close,
your teachings in which we remember,
your big heart in which we honor,
your patience in which we practice each day,
your tolerance in which we give thanks for,
your spirit in which we will carry on,
your energy in which we will never forget,
your passion in which we admire,
your love in which we will carry with us, and
the memories you left us with.
We will continue living for you.

We wish if there is reincarnation,
to meet again
in a different setting,
under a different sky,
under different circumstances,
and be happy with you.

When Does A Mother's Protectiveness Cross the Line?

Mothers are such amazing people. They give birth, give their love, give their care, give their best years, give their energy to their children. Although, they may be difficult to understand and drive you nuts their starting point is meant to be well and just somewhere along the line it twisted into something else. 

Mothers are very protective parents and they would do anything to protect their child. Mothers in the animal kingdom would urge their little ones to run while they stayed and fended off the enemy. They would nourish and watch over their little ones with a watchful eye until they became old enough to fend for themselves. It's always heartwarming to watch such great love. Mothers never give up unless you choose to give up on yourself. Say when a baby lynx gets sick or is born too weak to make it through a certain amount of days and the baby lynx chooses to not fight for itself. The mother would choose to abandon them as they serve as a hinder to the family as much as it pains them to do so. 

Think about it like this. Mothers train us in life when we are young. It's like teaching someone to ride a bike. A mother would always be behind the bicycle, both arms protecting us until we are able to balance ourselves and ride on our own. Their hands are always around us to shield us from pain. But there comes a point where they let go to let us ride life on our own or give up when we choose to give up trying to ride the bike. It's a cause and effect cycle. 

Our moms are not that different from them. They will do anything to protect their children and be willing to make any sacrifice though not every sacrifice may be known to us. They are afraid that we aren't able to stand on our own and make sure everything is fine before they finally take their hands off the handles of the bicycle we are on. And then there are some mothers who never take their hands off. Sometimes too much protection from them will never give children space to grow. 

However, there are mothers who are overprotective and must be in every second of their children's lives and force their views, morals, opinions, and decisions on their lives. They try to control what type of person we date, how our salary should be invested, what we eat, how we live, what we study in school, what clothes to buy, when should we get married, etc. Mothers are...they love organizing everything sometimes. They love to plan out our lives for them so we become their joy and pride. It's not a bad thing but sometimes they just go overboard. When they start causing trouble, such as trying to make you break up with someone or stop talking to someone, butting their noses into everything...that's overprotection. It's like they're holding the handles of the your bike in a death like grip and unwilling to let go. They love the control and they probably feel they've invested so much into you and in order for you to good life, they cannot allow a single mistake. 

In my thought, it's sort of like an obsessive compulsive disorder. They fear you cannot do well on your own. They fear you will make mistakes. They fear you will make the wrong decisions, fall in with the wrong crowd. They want to arrange the aspects of your life to their approval. What they don't know is how much pressure and anxiety that gives their children. 

Frightening isn't it? The starting point was simple motherly love...and then it turns into a manipulative and obsessive love. A mother's love is so strong that it frightens even their children sometimes but it also drives a mother and a child apart when that love becomes too much to the point where it becomes an obsession. It also drives a knife between the mother and child when the love becomes intrusive and unreasonable. 

I believe that mothers should learn to let go when the time is right no matter how unwilling they are. Letting go is also a part of loving their children as in the opposite...too much protection will never allow the children to go and cause them to be indecisive and be constantly relying on their mothers for answers and help. Let them fall. Let them get hurt. Let them learn from their mistakes, Let them learn from their pain. Let them chase after what matters to them. I am sure that's how our mothers learned about life and all its beauty and ugliness. 

Being overprotective does more harm than good to both the mother and their children. 

Chicago Is Slowly Dying

News Article: http://chicagoist.com/2016/05/25/cps_faces_devastating_cuts_next_yea.php

Chicago is dying. It's dying from violence, from budget cuts for education, for rising taxes, and corruption. It is truly a tragedy to see such a once so vibrant city start to crumble from mistakes, poor decisions, and greed of politicians. 

When I saw the news article on the devastating cuts for CPS new year, I couldn't suppress my anger anymore and chose to write a blog post on this. I am not a mother nor do I have any relatives who go to public schools but I went to public schools up to high school. I remember we would have around 27 or sometimes 30 students in a classroom which is normal. However, it was difficult for the teacher to keep an eye on everyone. People would be doing homework for other classes half the time. I used to do the same and this shows how teachers can't even control that size of a classroom.

If they cut the funds as much as they plan to for the next school year, so that classrooms will double in size, classes will be combined and non-core classes will be cut down then it's hurting no one but the students. A classroom with possibly 48 students is impossible to manage for high school teachers unless they plan to put student teachers in every class that is doubled in size. These are high schoolers. High schoolers are just teenagers who have huge egos, little to no self-control, self-awareness, or maturity. No offense to anyone but that's what I'd see and experienced going to public schools. There will always be class clowns and students that cause trouble and that will disrupt everyone else. And with everyone relying on smartphones so heavily nowadays, it is the biggest distraction in a classroom. 

Moreover, the bigger size a classroom is the harder is it reach out to every student unless students take the initiative to approach the teacher and not everyone is comfortable doing that.  

My second point is cutting down on non-core classes is a big mistake because many students have a huge passion for the arts and to cut down on those classes is like taking away their life. I studied creative writing in school and I loved my creative writing class during my senior year of high school. It was the most enjoyable class in all my four years of high school. 

I hate how the funds never make its way down to the schools. It always gets distributed among those above them. That's what makes me sick and hate politics the most. How can you strip students of their future and hope because of your own greed? That is something I don't think I will ever understand. 

Fiction Can Be so Frighteningly Real

I came across a Korean drama called: Descendants of The Sun. You can read the summary here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descendants_of_the_Sun . I am not usually a big fan of Korean dramas. I think they're a bit vague and it's the same story every single time, the topics are the same, and the endings are always so heartbreaking. I just feel Korean dramas rarely have a sweet ending...the ones I come across anyways.

I hate tragic endings and there have been dramas where even the main leads all die. Something is seriously wrong with Korean dramas.

This drama caught my attention because the second couple seemed to have such amazing chemistry on screen. Seo Dae Young and Yoon Myung Joo. They reminded me of me and a coworker that I have intense feelings for. I'll just summarize how their relationship is.

Basically this guy is often so detached and distant to this girl. He is always so cold towards her and then there are moments where he's so warm-hearted towards her. He cares for her a lot but he rarely allows it to show. He's a really cautious guy and her father disapproves of him greatly as the father had his eyes on someone else as a potential son-in-law. This girl is so relentless and knows what she wants and persists until she gets it which in this case is him. She calls him. He never answers. She texts him...he never replies. He knows it is her and knows he can't be with her. However, she is so full of joy and shines so bright even if it's only his voice that she hears. She just wants to be near him even if he refuses to show any true emotion.

She called him one time and he didn't pick up and she apologized for not always being there for him, for not holding his hand enough, for not hugging him enough but she also said she wished that he would just hold her hand and hug her later on in a different episode. Then there was one episode where he finally answered her call but didn't say anything and just listened to her

And in one of the latest episodes...where the girl was in the midst of an earthquake, this guy finally got his wake up call. The girl asked him how he would have felt if she was not alright after what happened. The guy refused to answer at first but then he stated that he would have regretted all the times he tried to run away from her. And she asked if he was just going to stand there like that. And he just embraced her in a hug.

I was like 'awwwww...!'

This guy at work is exactly the same. He's so close sometimes and then there are days or a short period of time where he just distances himself from me. There's no physical playing around or much goofing off verbally. I feel he's in a constant inner struggle with himself. It frustrates me. I ask myself many times of why he does certain things when he knows I will dwell on it for days and days. And then he doesn't do anything a period of time and it leaves me so sad and confused and dwelling on what the heck is he thinking.

Fiction is frighteningly real....and it is so relatable this time to me. I don't know what to do anymore.

In Memory of Harper Lee

Link: 
US author Harper Lee dies aged 89:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35616011

I was running around on errands and pulled out my phone to check something when I saw a BBC breaking news notification and saw that 'Harper Lee dies aged 89'. My brain went blank for several moments at this news. It is always tragic when you learn the death of family members and those you admired, respected, or inspired you. It just feels like something was ripped from your chest and you lost something irreplaceable. Another thought that popped into my head was what is with all the deaths of famous creative people such as: David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee to name a few. This is just a random thought that I have right now and that is:  'the older generation passes on their legacy to the younger in hopes that new legacies will rise from the ashes of those gone.' ~Ann. In a depressing point of view, the heavens are cruel to end the lives of these legacies but everyday a new one will rise or so we all hope but can never replace those before them. Sorry for digressing!

I remember I was in sixth grade or fifth grade when our english teacher introduced us to To Kill A Mockingbird. None of us knew what it was about and many of us found it boring and confusing for that age. However, we did manage to understand the book with in class readings and discussions and our love for the book grew tremendously. In my personal opinion, this book opened my eyes and mind to justice and racism. I caught onto the book's deeper meaning quick and it pained me as we were closer to the end of the book. It's a book everyone should read and at an early age too because it will open your eyes and mind to what is still happening now in the world. Prejudice based on class, social standing, cruelty, to not prosecute those who've done no wrong, and the inevitableness of fate. 

I reflected that the title of the book means to kill the innocent which was Tom Robinson. Mockingbirds are harmless birds and yet they get killed by poachers and other reasons. It is a sad fate and cannot be changed. 

The quote I included above is my favorite quote from the book and when I always try to do on a daily basis no matter how difficult the day. You cannot claim to know someone until you see things from their point of view and be in their shoes. This quote strongly emphasizes discrimination and to not discriminate or be prejudice about others for any reason. It's not a surprise of how strongly To Kill A Mockingbird reflects society during the time it was written and published. My love for this book has no ends. It shaped me as a person too. 

I have not read Go Set A Watchman yet. I have heard mixed reviews and I don't want any of my characters ruined. 

I love this quote from Harper Lee herself. You guys should all remember this quote and keep it at heart. Rest in Peace, Harper Lee! I will never forget the characters you created and the books you wrote. You were truly an amazing writer and will never be forgotten for the lives you influenced and changed and the minds you put to work after reading your books.