thephilosophyofsuns

[thephilosophyofsuns]

People talk about earning love or deserving love, and that's just... not the point?

Firstly, everyone deserves love. Humans are social creatures. We are designed to live and be loved.

Secondly, you don't "earn" love. Yes, you might do things or have personality traits that cause people to love you, but that's not the same as "earning" love.

The big, important thing about love is that it's freely given. If you have to earn something, then that thing was not freely given.

Beyond that, love is not currency. You cannot earn it like you do a wage. It cannot be withheld when you don't do your job.

Saying someone needs to earn love is like saying they need to earn the right to breathe.

My point is: don't worry so much about deserving or earning love. You cannot decide for others if they will love you. All you need to do is focus on the love your giving in return.

One "earns" love simply by having the capacity to give it in return.

Love is in our very nature; love is in our lungs, our skin, our DNA.

Love is of the soul—and your soul is never too broken to be loved.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

Your Least Favorite Shirt

The Garden is overgrown.

Your miracles

are clustered with weeds.

You once spent hours

pulling and plowing and planting,

but now,

the garden is overgrown—

The air is missing from my lungs.

My ribs ache

from the loss of your arms.

Your room was empty

when I turned to speak to you,

and now,

the air is missing from my lungs—

I’m wearing your least favorite shirt.

You wore it anyway

because your mother gave it to you.

“You can have it when I’m gone.”

But now,

I’m wearing your least favorite shirt—

—and I don’t want it anymore.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

You're right. I honestly totally forgot about that. At the same time, though, it's not given the same level of importance or significance as Lily's love, as far as I can tell. Especially within the fandom, but maybe I'm just not seeing it 🤷🏽‍♀️

I was ranting about a topic and decided to write it down, so here's a formal essay on the Significance of James and Lily Potter's Deaths.

The Significance of the Sacrifices of James and Lily Potter

In the Harry Potter series, one major event that takes place before the series begins is the deaths of James and Lily Potter. On the night that Voldemort comes to kill Harry, James and Lily sacrifice themselves in an attempt to protect their son. As we see throughout the book, Lily’s sacrifice and love are credited for Harry from Voldemort. Unfortunately, this is as far as J.K. Rowling takes it. The problem with leaving the topic there, however, is that it ignores the unique significance of their sacrifice. James and Lily Potter’s sacrifice deserves further attention and understanding because they sacrificed themselves without knowing if their deaths would make a difference.

Think of Voldemort like a nuclear bomb. When it’s coming for you, all you can do is bunker down and hope your safety measures are enough. But they weren’t. Voldemort found them despite all their best efforts. They knew they were going to die and they chose to protect Harry anyway.

When Voldemort first breaks down the door of the Potters’ home, James tells Lily to get Harry while he fights Voldemort. The main thing of note here is that he didn’t have his wand. People often joke that perhaps he forgot or lost it. However, James Potter was a pureblood wizard who spent his entire life with the knowledge of magic. There is little possibility that he would forget his only weapon against Voldemort. James did not retrieve his wand because he knew it wouldn’t make a difference; he was going to die. His only choice was how he would spend his last moments: pointlessly trying to get to his wand or standing between his wife and child and the one who sought to harm them. He chose to give Lily and Harry a chance, to buy them time to make it out. He never thought of himself, but, more than that, he didn’t know if his death would make a difference. He had no way of knowing whether his sacrifice would save his wife and child, but he willingly died for them anyway, because he loved them. Yet, strangely, people don’t mention his love protecting Harry.

The love we hear about protecting Harry is the love of his mother, Lily. After James told her to go, she could have abandoned Harry and saved herself. She might even have had time to run upstairs, grab Harry, and leave. Instead of fruitlessly fighting to live, she ran to Harry’s nursery and used precious time to tell him he was “so loved.” She knew that she would die that day, but she wanted to make sure her child knew someone loved him. When Voldemort got to them, he told her that if she surrendered her child, he would spare her life. She refused, despite knowing she would soon join her husband in death, despite knowing that it could all be in vain. Her last words weren’t begging for her life or despairing James’s death—they were pleading for her son’s life, knowing her pleas would go unanswered. She did not know that Voldemort would fail and that Harry would live. For her, it was worth it to die even if it only kept Harry alive for a little longer. In the end, she died not knowing if Harry would soon follow, yet she did it anyway.

Because of his parents’ sacrifices, Harry got to live. Unfortunately, his relatives, the Dursleys, hated magic and hated him. He spent the next ten years of his life being neglected and emotionally abused by the Dursleys, making it clear that he was unwanted and unloved. The Dursleys also told Harry that his parents died in a drunken car crash—with their one-year-old child in the car—only for Harry to learn the truth years later. J.K. Rowling completely glosses over how world-shattering this would be for Harry. In one night, his parents went from selfish, reckless drunks who didn’t care about him enough to keep him safe to people who loved him so much they died so that he would have even just seconds more to live. He went from a random, unloved orphan to a child wrapped in his parents’ love. In that moment, Lily’s last words became clear—became true—to Harry. He was so loved.

James and Lily Potter's sacrifices are significant because motivated sacrifice has a different impact than sacrifice even when you think it might not make a difference. They didn’t die knowing the outcome; they gave their lives out of love even when all hope was lost. Their deaths show the magnitude of their bravery and love because they were willing to lay down their lives for their child when it might have been in vain.

In conclusion, if they say "you can't write an essay about anything," they're lying.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk 💀

[thephilosophyofsuns]

Superheroes by The Script is Naruto.

Believer by Imagine Dragons is Izuku.

Brother by Kodaline is Fairy Tail.

I desperately wish I could leave comments on specific songs on Spotify.

I have several fandom-specific playlists, but I wanna be able to explain why each individual song made me think of that fandom.

I also have several songs that are personally significant to me, and I wish I could explain what the song means to me.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

Saltwater & Ink

She is Saltwater.

She is the grit

that stays in your clothes

and the scent

that lingers even after they’re washed.

Saltwater is mixed with concrete

to prevent erosion from the sea.

What I mean is,

she reminds me of the thing

that makes things stronger.

I am Ink.

I am the stains

that stay on your hands

and the words

that are written on your skin.

Ink is used to record

our stories, our memories, our lives.

What I mean is,

I have always been the thing

that clings to what it learns about you.

We are Forte and Piano.

You are loud music

and dancing in the rain.

I am murmers under my breath

and thunderstorms outside the window.

“Dynamics” in music means

“the variation of loudness and softness.”

What I mean is,

we are things

that contrast and complete each other.

We are History.

We are the stars and the earth,

separate but spinning

and the old books and new books

that teach us what life is.

History is the never ending

circuit of what is and was and will be.

What I mean is,

we remind me of a thing

that will last forever.

This poem is about my best friend and I.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

I was ranting about a topic and decided to write it down, so here's a formal essay on the Significance of James and Lily Potter's Deaths.

The Significance of the Sacrifices of James and Lily Potter

In the Harry Potter series, one major event that takes place before the series begins is the deaths of James and Lily Potter. On the night that Voldemort comes to kill Harry, James and Lily sacrifice themselves in an attempt to protect their son. As we see throughout the book, Lily’s sacrifice and love are credited for Harry from Voldemort. Unfortunately, this is as far as J.K. Rowling takes it. The problem with leaving the topic there, however, is that it ignores the unique significance of their sacrifice. James and Lily Potter’s sacrifice deserves further attention and understanding because they sacrificed themselves without knowing if their deaths would make a difference.

Think of Voldemort like a nuclear bomb. When it’s coming for you, all you can do is bunker down and hope your safety measures are enough. But they weren’t. Voldemort found them despite all their best efforts. They knew they were going to die and they chose to protect Harry anyway.

When Voldemort first breaks down the door of the Potters’ home, James tells Lily to get Harry while he fights Voldemort. The main thing of note here is that he didn’t have his wand. People often joke that perhaps he forgot or lost it. However, James Potter was a pureblood wizard who spent his entire life with the knowledge of magic. There is little possibility that he would forget his only weapon against Voldemort. James did not retrieve his wand because he knew it wouldn’t make a difference; he was going to die. His only choice was how he would spend his last moments: pointlessly trying to get to his wand or standing between his wife and child and the one who sought to harm them. He chose to give Lily and Harry a chance, to buy them time to make it out. He never thought of himself, but, more than that, he didn’t know if his death would make a difference. He had no way of knowing whether his sacrifice would save his wife and child, but he willingly died for them anyway, because he loved them. Yet, strangely, people don’t mention his love protecting Harry.

The love we hear about protecting Harry is the love of his mother, Lily. After James told her to go, she could have abandoned Harry and saved herself. She might even have had time to run upstairs, grab Harry, and leave. Instead of fruitlessly fighting to live, she ran to Harry’s nursery and used precious time to tell him he was “so loved.” She knew that she would die that day, but she wanted to make sure her child knew someone loved him. When Voldemort got to them, he told her that if she surrendered her child, he would spare her life. She refused, despite knowing she would soon join her husband in death, despite knowing that it could all be in vain. Her last words weren’t begging for her life or despairing James’s death—they were pleading for her son’s life, knowing her pleas would go unanswered. She did not know that Voldemort would fail and that Harry would live. For her, it was worth it to die even if it only kept Harry alive for a little longer. In the end, she died not knowing if Harry would soon follow, yet she did it anyway.

Because of his parents’ sacrifices, Harry got to live. Unfortunately, his relatives, the Dursleys, hated magic and hated him. He spent the next ten years of his life being neglected and emotionally abused by the Dursleys, making it clear that he was unwanted and unloved. The Dursleys also told Harry that his parents died in a drunken car crash—with their one-year-old child in the car—only for Harry to learn the truth years later. J.K. Rowling completely glosses over how world-shattering this would be for Harry. In one night, his parents went from selfish, reckless drunks who didn’t care about him enough to keep him safe to people who loved him so much they died so that he would have even just seconds more to live. He went from a random, unloved orphan to a child wrapped in his parents’ love. In that moment, Lily’s last words became clear—became true—to Harry. He was so loved.

James and Lily Potter's sacrifices are significant because motivated sacrifice has a different impact than sacrifice even when you think it might not make a difference. They didn’t die knowing the outcome; they gave their lives out of love even when all hope was lost. Their deaths show the magnitude of their bravery and love because they were willing to lay down their lives for their child when it might have been in vain.

In conclusion, if they say "you can't write an essay about anything," they're lying.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk 💀

[thephilosophyofsuns]

Do you think Jesus ever got many carpenter requests after he started preaching? Like did anyone ever go up to him and be like; "My Lord! My Lord!" And the disciples are all: "The Master won't do anymore miracles today." But obviously Jesus is like; "Yes, my child?" And they just ask what his basic rate is to fix their door.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

Halloween by Noah Kahan reminds me of Remus Lupin looking back at all the people he's lost, when he's the last one left.

I desperately wish I could leave comments on specific songs on Spotify.

I have several fandom-specific playlists, but I wanna be able to explain why each individual song made me think of that fandom.

I also have several songs that are personally significant to me, and I wish I could explain what the song means to me.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

The desire to be known is so strange

Whenever someone tells me I remind them of someone else, I'm desperate to know why. What about them do you see in me?

I wish to know who I am. I've found that my understanding of myself is based mostly on reflective feedback.

I also gauge my friendships on how well we know each other. It doesn't matter how long we've known each other or how much we've done together, I want a friend who will know me. I want a friend who will tell me things they noticed about me without me having to tell them. This is true the other way around, too: I want to know them. If I know nothing about them, we are not friends.

I had this wonderful experience with one of my friends who casually brought up that I hum when I read. Most of the time, I don't even know that I'm doing it. But it was a reminder that she was thinking of me. I want friends who will think about me when I'm not with them, because I think of them when they're gone.

On the other hand, I hate when people tell me something about myself that's not true. It's as if my very soul is recoiling from the untruth.

Often, it's a summary; that person never bothered to look deeper, to pay attention to who I really am, and so they will make a general statement of me. I am not a being who can be summarized.

I want to be around people who care enough to get to know me, but won't be scared off once they do. I want people who will let me get to know them too.

I want people who have spent so much time with me that they notice little quirks that I'm unaware of. I want to find every endearing quirk of their personality.

I want people who, when they give me gifts, know me so well that they give me something I didn't know I wanted or needed. I want to be able to look at something and think "they will love this."

I want people who use our quality time to understand each other.

I want people who can tell when I need a hug and when I need not to be touched. I want to know them well enough to see when they need comfort or when they need space.

I just want to know and be known.

Aka: Northern Attitude by Noah Kahan

[thephilosophyofsuns]

I have never felt more flattered than when my roommate asked me to make a list of words from my vocabulary for a character she's writing because he "needs to sound smart." 😂😂😂

[thephilosophyofsuns]

I desperately wish I could leave comments on specific songs on Spotify.

I have several fandom-specific playlists, but I wanna be able to explain why each individual song made me think of that fandom.

I also have several songs that are personally significant to me, and I wish I could explain what the song means to me.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

Nothing is stopping you from writing fanfiction for college assignments

I have a class where I have to write creative assignments all the time, and let's be honest, I don't always have the motivation to write something super original.

My solution? Write fanfiction and change names and specific details. And you know what? Most college teachers won't even know.

I definitely just wrote a shortened version of a MHA Vigilante!Izuku Dadzawa fanfic and changed names and ages and genders.

I've done it before, and you know what? I got full credit. She didn't even notice.

In conclusion, work smarter not harder. This way, you still practice your writing skills, you practice plot conventions, and you don't have to world build. Plus, if your teacher does notice, you can be like:

So, yeah. Write fanfiction, do crime.

[thephilosophyofsuns]

Packing Tips:

These tips work best for shorter trips (2-10 days) where you have access to a washer. I'm going in a 10 spring break, so I'm packing for that. I don't change multiple times a day, so if you do that, these tips probably won't work for you.

Count how many days you have, divide by two, then add one. That's how many shirts, underwear, and socks you need. (For example, for 10 days, I need 6 shirts, pairs of underwear, and pairs of socks)

You don't need a new pair of pants for everyday. Switch off between 2-3 pairs, washing in between. Same thing for bras.

Bring 1 tank top and 1 pair of PJs. Make sure that your PJ top is comfortable and the bottoms are appropriate for the temperature.

For 1-5 days, bring one pair of everyday shoes. For 5-10, bring two. If you have special occasions, bring an extra pair of shoes for those, better if it's just one that matches multiple outfits (works for clothes too).

When figuring out what toiletries to bring, literally just walk yourself through your routine. I know this seems obvious, but it's really helpful.

Keep an "inventory." Make a list of EVERYTHING you need to bring, checking off what you have as you put it in your bag. When you pack for your return, use the same list to make sure you don't leave anything behind. (You can also add to the list if you buy something while away.) You can keep and reuse this list too!

Keep all of your electronics and their accessories in one of two bags, and keep at least one of them close. For example, I keep my headphones and phone charger in one bag that I keep with me, and my computer, computer charger, tablet, and tablet charger in my backpack. I also keep all of my school items in my backpack.

If you have jewelry you want to bring, try to wear it, unless it's super fancy. I bring one pair of everyday earrings that I wear on the trip there. If you need to bring extra or fancy jewelry, bring it in a Ziploc bag.

I hope this helped everyone, and feel free to add if y'all have tips too!

[thephilosophyofsuns]

"It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it."

- Maurice Switzer (1907)

(This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln, but this is the earliest form and publication I found)

[thephilosophyofsuns]

"[I]f they break off a single leaf they will claim to have won the entire forest."

- Martin Luther (1522)

[thephilosophyofsuns]

If I say "the other day," I could be talking about any range of time between 2 minutes ago and 10 years ago 😂😂😂

[thephilosophyofsuns]

You can't convince me that My Hero Academia and Naruto don't have the same plot for the main character.

Two male main characters.

One of them is the cold, top-of-the-food-chain kid. He is praised for being talented, then got a complex.

The other, a kid who is socially isolated, seemingly "talentless," and treated terribly.

When the "talentless" one suddenly grows in power and strength, the talented one becomes angry about it.

(I'm aware that this is a common anime trope, I just think this particular comparison is hilarious, because Bakugou would hate Sasuke)