Monday, May 20, 2013
Help my friend Shaylor go and do charity work in Tanzania
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shaylor-goes-to-tanzania
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The Mirror of Erised
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone depending on the country you got the book in) Harry stumbles upon a mirror called The Mirror of Erised while escaping from Snape and Filch. In the mirror he sees his parents and other family whom he has never met. Harry has always wanted to be reunited with his family, to really know them. He goes back three nights, once with Ron. Ron looks in the mirror after Harry's insistence. He doesn't see Harry's family though. He sees himself, older, being Head Boy of Hogwarts and winning the Quidditch Cup. Ron feels that he has been overshadowed by others his whole life, and even that he is unloved by others. (Killing Regulus' Locket?)
The third time Harry goes to sit and "be with" his family, he discovers that Professor Dumbledore has been watching him. Dumbledore explains what the Mirror of Erised does. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of them all." (213)
I was sitting at my computer staring at Facebook when I realized that the site I was on, plus many other social networking sites, could be seen as a muggle's Mirror of Erised. On Facebook we can put up whatever pictures, like any page, potentially have thousands of friends. Whatever we want our lives to be we can get. It is more powerful than the mirror in that we can project an image to other people as well.
But, as Dumbledore continues to explain, "However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." (213)
Let's break this down:
1) Neither knowledge or truth: Even if we build up these lives on Facebook for the world to see, is it real? I could claim to have a girlfriend, post myriad posts about how smart I am, or how right the President is or isn't. But in the end it does not make it the truth. I don't have a girlfriend, and at least half the country still thinks I'm wrong about my political views.
2) Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen: How much time do I spend on the computer, just HOPING somebody will write on my wall, or I'll win a prize on a page I've 'Liked?'
3) Or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible: This one hits a little to close to home. WAY too close. You know that really cute girl I liked throughout most of high school? Yeah, her. After not talking to her for over half a decade, I ran across her profile on Facebook, and promptly added her as a 'friend.' I looked in the Mirror of Erised, saw her, sat down and in effect, began staring. To me it was like the 3 years at ESHS plus 900 miles distance. Right back to when she put a heart in my yearbook, gave me her phone number, and said she'd miss me when I graduated. Except she had gone on with life, changed over the years, and had new experiences. No one is the same 5 years later. I'm not. But Facebook, the muggle's Mirror of Erised, allowed me to write on her wall, tell her she was beautiful (the truth btw) and act like we had seen each other last week. I even was brave enough to tell the computer cutie, over messaging, that I had liked her. In high school I had sincerely hoped she had no idea.
Luckily, unlike the Mirror of Erised, Facebook is more transient. The people you interact with on it do not stay on the screen, or in the mirror, for you to long for forever. Some time last year the girl of my dreams unfriended me. I'll admit that I spent some time being both angry and sad that that had happened. "After all," I told myself, "I never really thought I'd ever be able to acctually DATE her. I never even TRIED to ask her out, not one time!" Now I feel like it was good that we are not friends, even on the internet. I never said, "Will you go out with me," but it was plain that is what I would have wanted. As Dumbledore said at the end of the chapter, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." (214) That is what I was doing. Living on a dream which I could never know if it were real or even possible. Some times she is still in my dreams, though.
The third time Harry goes to sit and "be with" his family, he discovers that Professor Dumbledore has been watching him. Dumbledore explains what the Mirror of Erised does. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of them all." (213)
I was sitting at my computer staring at Facebook when I realized that the site I was on, plus many other social networking sites, could be seen as a muggle's Mirror of Erised. On Facebook we can put up whatever pictures, like any page, potentially have thousands of friends. Whatever we want our lives to be we can get. It is more powerful than the mirror in that we can project an image to other people as well.
But, as Dumbledore continues to explain, "However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." (213)
Let's break this down:
1) Neither knowledge or truth: Even if we build up these lives on Facebook for the world to see, is it real? I could claim to have a girlfriend, post myriad posts about how smart I am, or how right the President is or isn't. But in the end it does not make it the truth. I don't have a girlfriend, and at least half the country still thinks I'm wrong about my political views.
2) Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen: How much time do I spend on the computer, just HOPING somebody will write on my wall, or I'll win a prize on a page I've 'Liked?'
3) Or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible: This one hits a little to close to home. WAY too close. You know that really cute girl I liked throughout most of high school? Yeah, her. After not talking to her for over half a decade, I ran across her profile on Facebook, and promptly added her as a 'friend.' I looked in the Mirror of Erised, saw her, sat down and in effect, began staring. To me it was like the 3 years at ESHS plus 900 miles distance. Right back to when she put a heart in my yearbook, gave me her phone number, and said she'd miss me when I graduated. Except she had gone on with life, changed over the years, and had new experiences. No one is the same 5 years later. I'm not. But Facebook, the muggle's Mirror of Erised, allowed me to write on her wall, tell her she was beautiful (the truth btw) and act like we had seen each other last week. I even was brave enough to tell the computer cutie, over messaging, that I had liked her. In high school I had sincerely hoped she had no idea.
Luckily, unlike the Mirror of Erised, Facebook is more transient. The people you interact with on it do not stay on the screen, or in the mirror, for you to long for forever. Some time last year the girl of my dreams unfriended me. I'll admit that I spent some time being both angry and sad that that had happened. "After all," I told myself, "I never really thought I'd ever be able to acctually DATE her. I never even TRIED to ask her out, not one time!" Now I feel like it was good that we are not friends, even on the internet. I never said, "Will you go out with me," but it was plain that is what I would have wanted. As Dumbledore said at the end of the chapter, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." (214) That is what I was doing. Living on a dream which I could never know if it were real or even possible. Some times she is still in my dreams, though.
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