Since Everyone Else Is Doing It

I got back from a week of vacation to find the internet had blown up. Facebook is full of rainbow filtered profile pictures and hate comments. I became exhausted just reading everything. I do want to put my opinion out there, however. At the end of the school year, I wrote up a paper about gay marriage. I'm going to post it below and not return to this subject on my blog because, like I said, I'm tired of it. 

There tends to be two sides portrayed by the media when it comes to the issue of gay marriage. 

The 'no tolerance'-'God hates gays' extremist Christians and 'everyone deserves 

happiness', understanding liberals. The topic seems to have been wrung dry by online bloggers, TV 

newscasters, and argumentative friends at the lunch table or Facebook comment feed. There's a 

group that tends to get left out of these discussions, and that's the 'observer who doesn't want to 

argue, but disagrees with both sides of the issue'. Christians need to treat everyone they talk to 

with a love that stems from Jesus. Remembering that all humans, including themselves, are soaked 

in sin and deserve hell is necessary when discussing the wrongdoings of others. 

The Bible straight up says that homosexuality is a sin and should, therefore, be avoided. It is 

a sinful perversion, and veers from the guidelines put in place from the start of the world. 

Purposefully living against those guidelines and not making any effort to repent and change sinful 

ways shows rejection toward God and his creation. Gay marriage is a blatant way of expressing 

the sin of homosexuality. 

God made males and females different for a reason. Adam and Eve needed each other to 

build each other up and to populate the earth. Even from an evolutionary standpoint, being in a 

gay relationship doesn't reap the benefits that a relationship between a man and woman would. It's 

physically impossible for two males or two females to naturally have a child together and continue 

the human race. It's not denying happiness to say that marrying someone of the same sex is wrong, 

it's a way of looking out for people who have sinful urges. 

An argument that is heard frequently in favor of gay marriage is that they were 'born that 

way'. This is completely and 100% true. Every single person is born with sin and they live with 

that sin their entire lives. Each person's struggles are different. Their struggles could range from 

anger issues, lust, jealousy, fear, homosexuality, etc. How people deal with those struggles 

determines who they are and their faith life. Someone could identify themselves as gay, but later in 

life go to God and counselors with their problems. Someone else could grow up going to Sunday 

school and church every week, but fall out of faith because of an alcohol addiction or drug 

problem that they refuse to seek help for. 

People don't want to hear that what they feel or the things that they do are wrong. It's the job 

of a Christian to help others and tell them about Jesus. Part of helping others is telling them 

when they're doing something wrong. In some circumstances, this duty gives Christians a 

judgmental sense of entitlement where instead there should be a desire to help rooted in love. When 

approaching the subject of homosexuality, Christians should keep in mind that they are talking to 

humans who are just as set in their mind as they are. Too often, a desperate need to be right 

overcomes the need to be kind. 

It's important to remember that although there will be homosexuals in hell, there will also be 

people who claimed to be a Christian. Only God can see into people's hearts and see what sort of 

faith they have.

Graduation

Graduation caps are ugly and there is no way to fix that. People may decorate them or scour Pinterest for tutorials on how to pin them back (note: while this sort of works, it will feel like you're always about to lose your cap. It's probably not worth it.), but that doesn't hide the fact that it's a piece of cardboard resting on top of your head. Let's not even get into tassels, especially dysfunctional ones that fall apart every few minutes.  

But seriously. Like I've said before - I don't like being told I don't get to do something. I was jump up and down in my seat excited to wear a cap, gown, and tassel. But Pomp & Circumstance started my stomach totally flopped. 

Why was I so nervous?!

Seriously, there's nothing to be scared about, but I'm pretty sure every graduate feels similar right before the ceremony. That sort of rush of *is this really happening?* *I thought only grown ups graduated* *Does that make me one of the grown ups? That's weird.* *What if I fall or drop the diploma or something?*

I didn't fall. I didn't drop my diploma. I am an adult (with no intentions of growing up ;) -kidding-). I didn't give a speech (except to say thank you :) ). I walked down the aisle. I pledged allegiance to the flag. I watched and laughed at pictures in the slideshow. My stomach flopped again when it was announced that the presentation of the diplomas was about to begin. My mom gave a wonderfully sweet speech, my dad handed me my diploma, and that was it. I got to stand up and turn my tassel in front of a church of people. -I got to toss that hideous hat off of my head- 

Since I didn't make a speech, I thought I'd write a few words here instead. 

I mentioned in my 'thank-you' that my parents were supportive. To give you an idea of just how supportive they are, I came downstairs one day and said that, even though I'd been planning on going to a particular college for about five years, I wanted to stay home to make a documentary and start a theatre group. Instead of telling me that it probably wasn't smart to put off education, they told me that they loved the idea and would support me regardless of what I decided to do. 

I don't know how to express in words all that my parents have done for me. Especially when it comes to my education. I'm so thankful that I was homeschooled. It's not right for everyone, but it was just right for me (even though I didn't always see it). As the 'test child' ( ;) ), I got to experience a large variety of curricular. We joke about how my mom doesn't like to stick to one curriculum, but in all seriousness, I liked it. I liked switching it up before I got bored. I like consistency, but when it comes to learning, I tend to zone out when it gets monotonous. Thankfully, it never did. :)

When I say that I like consistency, I mean that I don't like change. I don't like trying new things because it's scary. I need to be pushed into things. My poor parents have had to stay up with me talking and talking and talking to convince me to make decisions. Because of those talks and gentle pushes, I've become a more decisive (and sometimes impulsive, but in my case that's a positive) and independent person.

So I'm sending this big thank you out to my parents for always being there for me, supporting me, and pushing me when I needed it. 

In Defense of Harry Potter

I didn't have a picture for this post, but I still have a plethora of old photos on the computer thanks to graduation slideshows and poster-boards. I'm thinking this one could tie in to the family aspect of the below post. Maybe? I don't know. 

Warning: I wrote this post up during a two-hour quiet spell (pun intended) at work. It probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense (as if anything I post on the internet does ;) ), but it's something I've been thinking about, so there you go. Feel free to read or not read.



My parents didn't want me to read Harry Potter. I didn't want to read Harry Potter. My seven

year old self thought it sounded silly. Then I started hearing more and more about it from 

my cousins and people I met at camp. I have a memory from the summer of 2006 when my 

dad was working on building our (then) new garage. I went up to him and asked if I could  please read Harry Potter. My parents came back to me with the decision that yes, I could buy Harry Potter *if* we did it as a family read-aloud.

All sorts of articles were swimming around the Internet at that time (and now) about the evils of Harry Potter. And understandably so. Witchcraft, spells, potions, all sorts of controversial topics made parents uneasy.

Harry Potter isn't for everyone. I lent my first three books to a friend a few years ago, and they enjoyed the books enough to read them, but not to continue. There are people who read Harry Potter or Hunger Games and disagree with the messages of the books, or simply don't like them. I have absolutely nothing against those people! I don't even have anything against people who don't want to read Harry Potter for religious reasons. I do think people should give it a chance.

I remember waiting until dad got home from work so he could read to us. I remember his Hagrid voice. I remember once he was so tired that he dozed off while reading and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world (I didn't have enough respect for his exhaustion to let him stay asleep. I had to know what happened next!). I remember my feeble attempts at making scarves in Gryffindor colors. I remember being spoiled on what happened at the end of book six. 

I remember waiting for book seven to come in the mail (and waiting until after mom read it and a week of camp to be able to read it myself). Going to my first ever midnight release with my mom and friends to see the very last movie (and seeing it later that day with dad and brother after sleeping for a few hours). 

Over the past few months, my little sister has been reading the books. My parents were a little hesitant to let her read the last two books on her own, so we listened to the audio books as a family.

It was absolutely great watching her react to the things that happened in the book. It was like I was reading them again for the first time. She cried and had outbursts of triumph at all the right parts. We were able to pause in case she had questions. My sister's two favorite characters were Dobby and Neville, so for those of you who have read the last book, you can imagine the reactions she had. ;)

Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with Harry Potter. There's magic, yes. There is divination and spellcasting, but that's not what the book is about. -cue cheesy music- Harry Potter is a story about Good vs. Evil wrapped up in spiderweb plotlines, seasoned with about five complex characters with Latin-roots. Taking apart the names is a school lesson in itself. ;)


I'm thankful for the family experience that Harry Potter was for me. I'm thankful for the world it was able to take me to, and I'm thankful for the stories I hear from around the globe about the positive influences Harry Potter has had on other people's lives. I don't think Harry Potter is a substitute for religion, however. People *shouldn't* let their world's revolve around a boy wizard who had dorky, relate-able friends. There's a difference between getting wrapped up in a story and letting it take you to a different place, and trying to stay in that place forever. 

That's true for any young adult series, but Harry Potter fans in particular get portrayed as manic and obsessive (in an unhealthy way).

This is one of my favorite videos on YouTube when it comes to describing healthy enthusiasm. (0:42 - 1:41 for Harry Potter stuff :) )

In short - as one of the few Potterhead homeschoolers in existence, I feel it's my duty to speak up and say that Harry Potter didn't scar me (pun intended) and it didn't turn me into a rebellious, spell-casting teenager. I urge you to give it a chance, and if you don't like it, or find something objectionable in it, I wouldn't be offended in the slightest. In fact, I'd really like to hear what you have to say in the comments below. 

Thanks, guys!