Pity Those Who Live Without Love

First of all, let me just say that a society where people's emotions didn't get in the way of their reason sounds, at times, like a paradise. On those days when we feel really bad even though we know it's completely illogical, it would be nice to throw those feelings aside and operate as normal. While maybe we think that it's better to feel something than to feel nothing when we're feeling good, when we're sad or angry or downright lachrymose (vocab alert!), it's normal to think that, just for a moment, it would be nice if the pain just went away.

But then, I like to think about the fifth Harry Potter book. It's my favorite, but a lot of people hate it because for the majority of the book, Harry whines about how terrible his life is. Those emotions that he's feeling aren't pretty, and most people don't want to confront those kinds of feelings in themselves. But the thing is, when you're being chased down by a power-hungry Dark wizard that no one else believes exists, those feelings are kind of justified. They make for compelling stories. For me, they made Harry seem less like some hero and more like a real person.

Part II of Notes shows us the completely irrational behavior of the Underground Man in narrative form. He knows that Simonov and the others don't like him, but he goes to dinner anyway, just to spite them. He knows that the officer won't even remember "the bump" and that he'll probably get the worst of it, but he does these things because they make him feel alive. Just like Harry Potter, the feelings that end up coming out of these decisions are ugly and frightening, but, at the very least, he has a soul as well as a mind. When we feel these awful things and persevere, it's a testimony to the power of the human spirit. When a robot hits a wall, it'll stop. When humans hit a wall, we complain about it being there until we find a better way.

When I was younger, I had one of the worst social circles in the whole school. By third grade, I had three whole friends, two of whom moved away. My "best friend" and I had an argument in fourth grade that completely shattered most of my elementary school relationships. On top of that, we had just started getting letter grades, and mine were pretty far down alphabetically. I would have never imagined then that I would get through all of this at the time. I certainly never imagined that I would look back at those days and see all of the ways I grew into who I am now. Most of the time I felt like a loser, but those memories give me strength now. I've got a really compelling story to tell, and fortunately for me, it's not ending yet.

"Do not pity the dead, Harry.

Pity the living.

And above all, pity those who live without love."

-in memory of Albus Dumbledore (1881-1997)