Oui, you were right Ghadeer, as was Arvie... as was everyone. I knew it then, I know it now. It's just that at the time, you're just so overwhelmed, it's not so much the worrying about whether things get better, it's more about the when will they get better, because you can't see the light at the end. Yet.
I got there.
So it's okay.
And now I'm 20.
How completely and utterly bizarre is that? I'm the big two-oh. I'm two decades old. It's not that I feel different or anything. It's just that the idea of it is so... strange. I feel like things should be different. But I feel like I'm no different than I was at the end of high school.
I mean, I certainly know more things, I've experienced more things, I can do more things. But as a person, I don't think I've evolved much. Or I can't see it.
Anyhow, I actually haven't much to write about. I feel like my life has become a pleasant series of minute moments, only worth reiterating for a short period of time, before they become irrelevant. I say 'pleasant series' rather than 'pleasant moments', because in all due honesty, there are still the normal stressors of assignment/exam pressure, family dramas, and everyday hiccups, but that's to be expected. And it's okay, I like it like that.
But I like keeping this blog alive, so I thought I'd do another one of these things, just because. It's kind of therapeutic, too.
Firstly, I've been re-reading Harry Potter, because, as a self-professed fan (and having been labelled as one too), I actually haven't re-read it too many times. Watched the movies a dozen times over, but not sure about reading the series. It's embarrassing. I'm not going to bother recommending it, because, well, come on. If you read books, you must have already been recommended this series jizbillion times, and I can't see why my recommendation would be the one to finally compel you. But. I wanted to show y'all this...
Okay, okay, I’m going to tell you what Hermione sees in Ron.
A trio is a balancing act, right? They’re equalizers of
each other. Harry’s like the action, Hermione’s the brains, Ron’s the heart.
Hermione has been assassinated in these movies, and I mean that genuinely—by
giving her every single positive character trait that Ron has, they have
assassinated her character in the movies. She’s been harmed by being made to be
less human, because everything good Ron has, she’s been given.
So, for instance: “If you want to kill Harry, you’re
going to have to kill me too”—RON, leg is broken, he’s in pain, gets up and
stands in front of Harry and says this. Who gets that line in the movie?
Hermione.
“Fear of a name increases the fear of the thing itself.”
Hermione doesn’t say Voldemort’s name until well into the books—that’s Dumbledore’s
line. When does Hermione say it in the movies? Beginning of Movie 2.
When the Devil’s Snare is curling itself around
everybody, Hermione panics, and Ron is the one who keeps his head and says “Are
you a witch or not?” In the movie, everybody else panics and Hermione keeps her
head and does the biggest, brightest flare of sunlight spell there ever was.
So, Hermione—all her flaws were shaved away in the films.
And that sounds like you’re making a kick-ass, amazing character, and what
you’re doing is dehumanizing her. And it pisses me off. It really does.
In the books, they balance each other out, because where
Hermione gets frazzled and maybe her rationality overtakes some of her
instinct, Ron has that to back it up; Ron has a kind of emotional grounding
that can keep Hermione’s hyper-rationalness in check. Sometimes Hermione’s
super-logical nature grates Harry and bothers him, and isn’t the thing he needs
even if it’s the right thing, like when she says “You have a saving people
thing.” That is the thing that Harry needed to hear, she’s a hundred percent
right, but the way she does it is wrong. That’s the classic “she’s super
logical, she’s super brilliant, but she doesn’t know how to handle people
emotionally,” at least Harry.
So in the books they are this balanced group, and in the
movies, in the movies—hell, not even Harry is good enough for Hermione in the
movies. No one’s good enough for Hermione in the movies—God isn’t good enough
for Hermione in the movies! Hermione is everybody’s everything in the movies.
Harry’s idea to jump on the dragon in the books, who gets
it in the movies? Hermione, who hates to fly. Hermione, who overcomes her
withering fear of flying to take over Harry’s big idea to get out of the—like,
why does Hermione get all these moments?
[John: Because we need to market the movie to girls.]
I think girls like the books, period. And like the
Hermione in the books, and like the Hermione in the books just fine before
Hollywood made her idealized and perfect. And if they would have trusted that,
they would have been just fine.
Would the movies have been bad if she was as awesome as
she was in the books, and as human as she was in the books? Would the movies
get worse?
She IS a strong girl character. This is the thing that
pisses me off. They are equating “strong” with superhuman. To me, the Hermione
in the book is twelve times stronger than the completely unreachable ideal of
Hermione in the movies. Give me the Hermione in the book who’s human and has
flaws any single day of the week.
Here’s a classic example: When Snape in the first book
yells at Hermione for being an insufferable know-it-all, do you want to know
what Ron says in the book? “Well, you’re asking the questions, and she has to
answer. Why ask if you don’t want to be told?” What does he say in the movie?
“He’s got a point, you know.” Ron? Would never do that. Would NEVER do that,
even before he liked Hermione. Ron would never do that.
I saw this on CricketFreak's tumblr (I do not
thank you for the distraction, but then I sort of do), and I decided it was
gold. I'm not usually one to fangirl about relationships, but I've always loved
how they panned out in Harry Potter, so it irks me a lot when
people criticise them. Ginny is an awesome gal, and she and Harry make such a
great team, as do Ron and Hermione (*squee*). But what I really love about that
little rant is that it just revealed to me how important details are. I have
always loved the movies for Harry Potter, no matter that they can't
do the books justice, and I've always thought the cast was perfect. But I never
realised how the little shifts to do with the character really impacted the
bigger picture - how utterly perfect it was in the books, and how damaged it
became in the movies. Poor Ron, mostly. I think I filled in the gaps when I
watched the movies, but now I see that he was robbed of his noble traits to be
made comedic relief, almost. What a tragedy. I still love the movies, but you
know, I really appreciate the finer details of the books now.
Okay, that was just food for thought. The real food that I
recommend is sugar, of course. I don't think I've ever done this before, but I
really ought to, because honestly, I love sweets, and baking to sublimate my
rage has always worked for me. So now I'm going to link you to a website that I
tend to covet, because it is my all time favourite dessert/sweet blog,
and it is utterly divine.
Behold: Pretty.
Simple. Sweet.
I'm telling you, this is gold. I've made a dozen recipes
from here, and they have all worked out superdy well. 'Superdy well' is an
understatement. I don't have words. And I love Shiran, the lady that runs this
blog, I really do. This will sound creepy, but she makes my dreams come true.
And she's such a sweetheart (haha, see what I did there?). Anyway. My
favourites thus far are her Cinnamon
Streusel Coffee Cake, Cheesecake Brownies,
& Classic
Peanut Butter Cookies. You do not know how hard it was for me to narrow it
down to just those. Trust me. Everything is worth trying. I've made it my
lifelong goal to make everything on her blog. Until then, I spend an inordinate
amount of time perusing her recipes and salivating. So there you go. My secret.
Take a look. She has pretty photos too :)
What else can I recommend? Music. I have two new
obsessions.
Firstly: The Script. Most people know them, right?
'Breakeven' and 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' were pretty big. And 'Hall of
Fame'. Well, Panda gave me two of their albums, and I just found a dozen more
songs that I absolutely adore. Give the Love Around, No Words, Superheroes,
Never Seen Anything (Quite Like You), The Energy Never Dies, to name a few, and
...
(I mean, the video isn't particularly spectacular, besides
the fact that he is actually on that wire so very high up... but it's the song.
This song :') )
Secondly: Ella Henderson. Have you heard of her? I first
heard her song 'Ghost' when I was placement last year, one of my paramedic mentors
kept playing it, and I did quite like it. But then Panda reintroduced me to
her, and gosh, she is something else. She's become our cruise-y singer,
because she just has all these wonderful songs that you really just have to
blast out and sing along to. My recommendations: Mirror Man, Glow, Give Your
Heart Away, Pieces, The First Time, and...
Come on, ain't that the perfect feel good song? ^_^
Anyhow, I don't have anything else to recommend, except
maybe getting yourself a cat, and reading. Every day. It's good therapy.
That is all.
Peace in,
Laila
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