This is the essay. I did it in a rush. I basically finished it in two hours haha. We were supposed to read it in class, and I got a 97 on it.

Upon coming to the United States from /Mexico, I noticed a few differences. The language, the food, and the people were /a few/ of the obvious ones. Something that caught my attention though,/ was the denial of death in American society. I first noticed it /in children cartoons, then in society as a whole. I did not understand why not prepare children to know about something as natural as /death. This is why/ I picked reading selections from three books, the three of them belonging to the famous writer/ J.K Rowling. Rowling,/managed to incorporate the pain and acceptance of death in books originally intended for children,/ but whose maturity/ made it a classic for all ages. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and the “wizard children’s story book” “The Tales of Beedle the Bard”, portray death as both something /painful/ but that it must be accepted.
Although Harry had to deal with death at such young age, because of the loss of his parents, throughout his journey he also had to deal with many other casualties. Here is an excerpt of Harry/ at the moment of his godfather’s decease: “And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather’s wasted, once-handsome face /as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind/ and then /fell back into place. Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange’s triumphant scream, but knew it meant /nothing -- Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second.... But Sirius /did not appear.
“SIRIUS!” Harry yelled, “SIRIUS!”.
He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius /must/ be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out again... But as he reached the ground and sprinted toward the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest /holding him back.
“There’s nothing you can do, Harry---”
“Get him,/ save him,/ he’s only just gone through!”
“Its too late, Harry --”
“We can still /reach him--”
Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go... “There’s nothing you can do, Harry... nothing...He’s gone.” (OOTP, Rowling, pg. 806). Just as Harry, we all have dealt with the death of a family member /at some point/ in our life. Since that is the case, then why not be more open about it? Why does the topic of death, has to be spoken of /in a way that makes us seem /afraid of it?
Being afraid of death is natural, but why are we scared of it? It is true that we don’t know what comes after death. We might never know. However, why can’t we just welcome death? In the following excerpt, from the children’s book The Tales of Beedle the Bard, we follow the story of three brothers. Two of them, in their attempts to avoid death, died in the end. The last brother on the story didn’t avoid him, but /welcomed/ death....
“But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only /when he had attained a great age/ that the younger brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility/ and gave it to/ his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed /this life.” (TOBTB, Rowling, pg. 92-93)


Even when we’re afraid, and sad about what might come with death or dying, we must always cherish our days as if it were our last. Always appreciate the people around us, and the things/ that surrounds us. This last excerpt, from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, shows Harry’s last thoughts as he realizes that he must sacrifice himself. His appreciation for things in his last moments, perfectly depict why we must cherish every last minute.
“A swarm of dementors was gliding amongst the trees;/ he could feel their chill, and he was not sure /he would be able to pass safely through it. He had no strength left for a Patronus. He could no longer control his own trembling. It was not, after all, so easy /to die. Every second he breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air on his face, was so precious: To think that people had years /and years, time to waste, so much time /it dragged, and he was clinging to /each/ second. At the same time/ he thought that he would not be able to go on, and knew that he must. The long game was ended, the Snitch had been caught, it was time to leave the air...The Snitch. His nerveless fingers /fumbled for a moment with the pouch at his neck /and he pulled it out. ‘ I open at the close’. Breathing fast and hard, he stared down at it. Now that he wanted time to move as slowly as possible, it seemed to have sped up, and understanding was coming so fast it seemed to have bypassed thought. This was the close. This was the moment. He pressed the golden metal to his lips /and whispered/ ‘I am about to die.’ “ (DH, Rowling, pg. 697-698).
Death doesn’t care about race, religion, or social class. After all, in the end, we’re all going to end up down below earth. I don’t think we should be afraid of it, and I hope that with these readings, I was able to change your minds too, just a little.


Thank you for taking the time to read that. I'm fairly happy with how it came out. I wish I could've made it better, but it was due today and silly me had left it for the last minute.

I had a lot of fun today! Thanks so much for the tickets!. Unfortunetely, I didn't get James/Oliver autographs BUT I was next to them (if that makes any sense).

They have changed a couple of things at the exhibition, but I was very happy to see props of Harry/Ron/Hermione/Neville's clothes from DH2, and Godric Gryffindor's sword. I loved how, since its still winter they set up the main entrance to the exhibit (Hogsmeade Station), to appear as if it were snowing. If anyone wants to ask anything, go ahead.

Once again, thanks so much Vanessa! :D

You can barely tell its one of the twins because my phone camera was so dark lol

WHOA WHAT WHEN. OH GOD. I LIVE IN NY.

Lol kranen really needs to get over himself. Its not like Adam is doing anything to him. Jesus.