A Magical Thank You

So, needless to say, there have been a lot of posts about what people are thankful for over the past few weeks. And I think some people find them a bit annoying and redundant (especially if you're not American, I'd imagine) but I've always sort of liked them. I mean, we spend so much of our time just running around like these crazy people, and I feel like Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to slow down from all of the manic activity that composes our lives, stand back, and appreciate it all. Normally, though, I don't really take much time to think about what I'm thankful for personally. Yeah, sure, when we go around the table at Thanksgiving dinner, I'll definitely say what I'm thankful for, but usually it's not very well thought out and it tends to be a bit generic, like "I'm thankful for my awesome friends and family." They're always true, but not particularly meaningful or anything.

For some reason though, this year's been a bit different. I've really been thinking about what I have to be thankful for, and I have a LOT. But two things stand out in particular. Two things that weren't a part of my life this year; two things that are MASSIVELY important to me now - Harry Potter and Nerdfighting.

I didn't even read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows until Christmas Break last year. I loved Harry Potter when I was little, but then life caught up with me, curriculum books became my entire focus, and I just didn't have the time to give HP the attention he deserved. So I just...didn't. And then I remember sitting there late at night, and my dad was watching this documentary about Harry Potter. Not surprisingly, they started talking about the sixth movie, which would be coming out around six months later. It occurred to me that when the sixth movie came out, I actually wouldn't know what was going to happen. I panicked. No seriously, I freaked out. This was noooot okay with me. So I grabbed HBP off the shelves in our living room, and I started reading that night.

I was hooked. Over the course of the past year, Harry Potter has become my life. I can hardly go an hour without talking about something related to the series, even if it's just noticing that some common household item has the same colors as one of the Hogwarts houses. I started getting involved in the community, and things took off. I fell in love with wizard rock, I found the Harry Potter Alliance, and - I'm not even kidding - the world was suddenly a thousand times more beautiful. It's become an obsession, and I absolutely cannot imagine life without Harry Potter. Seriously, Jo Rowling has made me love the world again.

Amidst all of that, I was becoming more and more enthralled with the world of Nerdfighting. I'd started watching John and Hank's vlogs around this time of the year, and it didn't take long for me to realize that these were MY kind of people. By the time I got to January, I had watched all of the vlogs, I was attending my first BlogTV shows, and the channels I subscribed to on Youtube had tripled. I joined the Ning, and I was intrigued and sooo happy.

Things only get better from there. I became more and more involved. I started my own collab channel, 5RACKS, which was sort of short lived but amazing nonetheless. And then I started making my own videos on my personal channel.

And then I started meeting other Nerdfighters.

Oh my gosh, I can't even tell you how amazing these people are. Whether they've become some of my closest friends, or I just chat with them in the comments on videos, they've made me so freaking happy. I'm SO thankful for Nerdfighting, and as an added bonus, a good portion of Nerdfighters happen to be mondo Harry Potter fans as well.

So this is my thank you. All of you are absolutely amazing, and I love each and every one of you. I wouldn't be the same without you guys, really. <33

All-Around Amazingness

So. I sort of feel like it's about time I wrote another blog. It seems like every time I mention how much I enjoy blogging, something inevitably comes up to prevent me from doing the blogging I so enjoy. So a note to my future self: Think you like blogging and you wanna start doing it more? Well, that's fine and dandy, but DON'T SAY ANYTHING. Trust me, it won't do any good.

Anywho.

I have been super super busy lately, which is kind of weird, seeing as I had absolutely nothing going on for the first month and a half of school. This past weekend I went on TEC (Teens Encounter Christ), which is a weekend retreat I go on twice a year and pretty much my favorite weekend ever, and as per usual, it was absolutely amazing. I can never really figure out a way to explain TEC that does it justice, but I can definitely say that I miss it terribly, I had an incredible time, and I cannot WAIT to go back in the spring. I love TEC so freaking much. <33

For a long time, I was doing well on NaNoWriMo, but then I went to TEC and didn't have a chance to write at all for at least three days - no, I'm serious. Not a single word was written. And now I'm having a lot of trouble getting back into the swing of things. It's been two days since I got back from TEC, and I still haven't written anything. I'm sort of starting to think maybe I won't win this year after all, after ALL of my hard work and stubborn determination. But we have Thanksgiving this weekend, which means a lot of free time in which I can pooossibly get myself back in the swing of things. We'll have to see. Honestly, though, I don't think I'm gonna be devastated if I don't finish. I mean, I'll definitely be disappointed. But even without winning, it was totally a memorable experience, and I still wanna do it again next year no matter what happens. So I guess...we'll just have to wait and see, eh?

I don't really know what else to write about. I'm super tired, and I think I'm getting sick. Again. Maybe ACTUALLY sick this time too, so I'm sort of nervous.

OH. I know what I can talk about! A week and a half ago, we had to put my doggy down. Her name was Cubby, she was probably eleven years old, and she was the sweetest thing in the world. I was absolutely devastated, and I was at work when I found out what was wrong with her, which led to a bit of drama in the work place. She was so freaking cute, even if she was really obnoxious at some points, and I miss her like crazy. Howeeeever, something came up, and even though it's really soon, we've added a new member to the family! She's named Nora, she's two years old, and she's a German shorthair pointer. At first I was sort of unsure about adopting her, just because when I thought of getting a new dog, I was thinking of getting a puppy, and I mean a PUPPY. Like a playful little ball of fur and energy that I could play with when I got home from school and who would snuggle up to me at night. Nora, on the other hand, was quiet and timid, and she didn't even seem to know what playing was. Sure, she was adorable and overall I liked her, but needless to say, I was a bit torn on the whole situation. After going to TEC for the weekend though, I got back and she had come completely out of her shell. She is SO freaking quirky and adorable, and I love her to pieces. I'll definitely post a picture once I get one. 8D

I think that's all I really have time to say for now though! I love you guys! Have a good night. <3