HaughtyButNice

(via trinathedreamer)

acciobenedictcumberbatch:

lupinatic:

here-is-the-place:

When people say these books are children’s books, as if to demean them, I balk. These books dealt with themes that adults do not fully understand or wish to. It dealt with racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, prejudice, and general ignorance. These books taught us that it doesn’t matter how you were raised, but that you get to choose to be kind, loyal, brave, and true. They taught us to be strong under the pressures of this world and to hold fast to what we know to be right. These books taught me so much, they changed me as a person. So just because they’re set against a fantastical backdrop with young protagonists does not mean that their value is any less real.

This.

First book: Starts with the double murder of a pair of twenty-one year olds who were much missed and leaving their baby son a war orphan. A child growing up in abusive conditions that would give Cinderella the horrors. Dealing with peers and teachers who are bullies. The fickleness of fame (from the darling of Gryffindor to the outcast.) The idea that there are things worth fighting and dying for, spoken by the child protagonist. Three children promptly acting on that willingness to sacrifice their lives, and two of them getting injured doing so.

Second book: The equivalent of racism with the pro-pureblood attitude. Plot driven by an eleven year old girl being groomed and then used by a charming, handsome older male. The imbalance of power and resultant abuse inherent in slavery. Fraud perpetuated by stealing something very intimate.

Third book: The equivalent of ableism with a decent, kind and competant adult being considered less than human because he has an illness that adversely affects his behaviour at certain times. A justice system that is the opposite of just. Promises of removing an abused child from the abusive environment can’t always be kept. The innocent suffer while the guilty thrive.

Fouth book: More fickleness of fame. The privileged mistreating and undermining the underprivileged because they can. A master punishing a slave for his own misjudgment, and the slave blaming herself. A sports tournament which involves mortal risk being cheered by spectators. A wonderful young man being murdered simply because he was in the way. A young boy being tortured, humilated and nearly murdered.

Fifth book: PTSD in the teenage protagonist. Severe depression in the protagonist’s godfather, triggered by inherited mental health issues and being forced to stay in a house where abuse occured. A bigoted tyrant who lives to crush everyone under her heel, torturing a teenager for telling the truth in the name of the government (and trying to suck his soul out too). The discovery that your idols can have feet of clay after all. An effort to save the life of someone dear and precious actually costing that very same life. The loss of a father-figure and the resultant guilt.

Sixth book: The idea that a soul can be broken beyond repair. Drugs with the potential for date rape are shown as having achieved exactly that in at least one case, resulting in a pregnancy. Well-meaning chauvinism trying to control the love life of a young woman. Internalised prejuidce resulting in refusing the one you love, not out of lack of love but out of fear of tainting them. The mortality of those that seem powerful and larger than life.

Seventh book: Bad situations can get worse, to the point where even the privileged end up suffering and afraid. More internalised prejudice and fear hysterical terror of tainting those you love. Self-sacrifice and the loss of loved ones, EVERYWHERE. Those who are bitter are often so with a reason. The necessity of defeating your inner demons, even though it’s never as cool as it sounds. Don’t underestimate those that are enslaved. Other people’s culture isn’t always like your own. Things often come full circle (war ending with the death of a dearly-loved pair of new parents and their orphaned baby son living with his dead mother’s blood relative instead of his young godfather). Even if ‘all is well’ the world is still imperfect, because it’s full of us brilliant imperfect humans.

So… still think that Harry Potter is a kid’s series with no depth?

(via rainbowhallucinations)

spiritualinspiration:

“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined” (Luke 5:37, NIV)

Are you ready for a new chapter in your life? In order to move forward into the blessings God has for you, you have to be willing to let go of the old. The things that are behind you are not nearly as important as what is out in front of you. It’s time to get ready for the “new”!

You may have had some unfair things happen, things that you don’t understand. But let me tell you, you have come too far to stop now. Instead of allowing those things to hold you back, why don’t you let go and take a step of faith into the new? It’s time to get a new, bigger vision; it’s time to get a new, fresher outlook; it’s time to rise up with a new attitude! Instead of settling where you are, pick up and move forward. Have the attitude that says, “I may not understand it; it may not have been fair, but I am not getting stuck on this page. I know God has a new chapter for me — a chapter filled with blessings, favor and victory!”

Bishop T.D. Jakes - Free Your Mind

(via rainbowhallucinations)

spiritualinspiration:

Healthy friendships are vital to life, so it’s important that we have good friends and that we become good friends to others. God invented friendship, so His Word is the ultimate source for determining how to do it right. Here are a few key traits that should be present in any healthy friendship.

1. Friends Forgive. Friends don’t bring up old dirt and gossip about each other. They forgive and seek forgiveness with transparency and humility.

“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.” Proverbs 17:9

2. Friends love unconditionally! They are there for you when you need them most, not just when it’s convenient.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

3. Friends have your back! Loyalty is vital to friendship. There’s no such thing as a “frenemy”.

“There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

4. Friends tell you the truth. Even when it’s hard to hear, friends will speak the truth in love.

“An honest answer is a sign of true friendship.“ Proverbs 24:26

5. Friends make each other better!

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” Proverbs 27:17

6. Friends communicate openly.

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 14:15

Let’s all strive to live out these traits in our own relationships and I believe our friendships will become more enriching, fulfilling and God-honoring.

www.facebook.com/naeemcallaway

Source: couragehopestrength

Quote Diary: Maybe Someday

quotediaryofficial:

I must not be sad, no…

even if i know

that any time soon

you’d have to go

and leave me alone.

It is I who told you so,

didn’t I?

Rather than live a lie,

I’d better cry

and try to let my feelings die.

You’ve given me so much

to remember

you’ve made me feel like

we’re going to live

…

by9:

Shut my Eyes by ~GalacticAtlas

quotediaryofficial:

I’m smiling but inside I’m dying…

(via quotediaryofficial)

relatableblog:

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