Laaaaaambert, the sheepish lion

Okay, this post is not about Lambert, the Sheepish Lion.  I did watch that show / sing that song when I was younger, but this is about an entirely different lion.  Christian.  I love watching this video!  It is one of my favorite animal stories in the entire world.  Please watch it at least once (feel free to repeat several times).  I dare you to do so without smiling! :)  (Also, this is your Valentine's Day post.  Can you get much cuter than this kind of love?!)

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"[Hook] was never more sinister than when he was most polite, which is probably the truest test of breeding;"  - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

last post translation

A few of you have asked what the song from my last post was actually saying, so here's a "more or less" translation. :)

I'm about to start travelling

toward the unknown

I don't know if I will see you again

It's not easy to accept having lost.

Chorus:

No matter how much I begged you not to leave me,

you said, "It's not me, it's destiny."

And then I understood that even though I loved you,

I had to choose another road.

What good does life do me

if I don't live it with you?

What good does hope do me

if it's the last thing that dies

and without you, I've lost it [hope].

What good does life do me

if you are what I want / ask for

I go after your tenderness

but I don't have a single doubt

that you leave me without your kisses.

Listen well, love, what I tell you

because I don't think I'll have another chance

to tell you that I'm not sorry

that I gave you my heart.

Chorus

"De qué me sirve la vida," por Camila

This video is one of my favorite reminders that every single person - whether or not we know them, no matter their opinions or whether we agree - is a person, just like me.  Every person has hopes and dreams and fears and worries, just like I do.  It's easy to see people just as other humans walking around; it takes more effort to remember we're all so alike.

Basically it says, "What good is life to me if I have to live it without you?"which can be interpreted as just a love song, but I think it also applies to people around us.  What good is life if we have to live it without each other?  The point of this life is to learn to love and serve, to make families, and to learn to be Christlike.  If each of us were isolated with no human contact, what good would living do?  We need each other.

Yes, most of the examples in this video are sad.  That's not to say that every person is sad or has some depressing secret.  I, personally, am pretty happy.  I have bad days, too, though.  You never know if it's someone's good or bad day.  All the people in the video look "normal" and have something sad in their lives.  To me, it says that everyone has their own struggles and we don't always know each others', so we should be kind to everyone, no matter what.  "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Edit: Some of you asked what the song was saying.  Here is a "more or less" translation. :)

English translations of the posters people hold up:
"Your words are knives."  "I have AIDS. Don't be afraid of me."  "Listen."  "My family abandoned me. I have nothing."  "I am addicted to suffering."  "No one loves me. I am worth nothing."  "I have AIDS. Don't be afraid of me." (again)  "I also dream. I also am human."  "My name is Martín. My dad makes me rob people in the streets. I am not a criminal. What am I supposed to do?"  "My name is Julián. I am gay. I was kicked out of my house. They tell me I am a punishment, a curse / damnation."  "My name is Ana. I see myself as fat. Ugly. Horrible. I am disgusted by myself."  "My name is Beatriz. I am 13 years old. My stepfather raped me."  "They wrote this for me. I am illiterate."  "[Beatriz] And my dignity?"  "I am an alcoholic. My only friend is the drink. My family left me. I have nothing."  "Don't discriminate against me."  "[Beatriz] Will you also sexually abuse me?"  "They killed my brothers and now, who will protect me?"  "I am also gay."  "What did I do to you? Why can you not accept me as I am? Why can I not love without hiding?"  "I am María. I am 16 years old. I am pregnant. My parents don't know."  "I need love, too. Don't make fun of me."  "[María] My boyfriend left me. What do I do now? I am afraid."  "My husband hits me. I live terrified."  "In this second, a woman dies because of domestic violence.  She could be your friend, your mother, or even you."  "Should I tell that he hits me? Or should I be quiet? What would you do?"  "Respect others."  "Yes. I'm fat. Obese. And?"  "If you see or know about familial abuse, do something. Report it."  "Don't give up hope. All will be well."  "Don't waste time. Ask for help. Now."  "Don't hurt. Don't kill."  "I'm Julie. They shut me up in an asylum."  "Accept."  "[Julie] I carry solitude with me as I live."  "I live in a nursing home. I am a nuisance to my family.  Please don't ignore me."  "I want to commit suicide."  "You're not alone."  "I feel for you."  "Fight!"  "Don't be quiet. Break the silence."  "Don't ignore others' pain. Help!"  "Accept those who are different and think differently."  "I'm Esteban. I get beat up at school. My teachers and parents ignore me."  "Have hope."  "Open your mind. Open your heart."  "Never stop dreaming."  "Never stop acting / doing something."  "Learn. Change."  "Open your eyes to the soul."  "I also have rights."  "Share. We need you."  "Enough with violence."  "Live without fear. Love exists."  "Participate."  

The boy who lived

The first person who introduced me to Harry Potter was my grandma.  She sent our family the first book.  I'd heard of it, but didn't know many people who read it and had no interest, really, in reading it.  But hey, free book!  Why not read it?  Since then, there have been four (I think) midnight book releasings and two midnight movies.  T-shirts, hours of conversation, hundreds of hours of listening and reading and watching, Harry Potter food experiments, nicknames, reenactments (with and without sparklers), magic wand finding, and party planning.  Although it may sound dramatic, it is 100% completely true that my life has never been the same.  I owe you big, Grandma.  :)

I may or may not have just spent a lot of time looking at Harry Potter-related videos, interviews, pictures... you get the drift.  I love it, you guys.  Seriously.  I LOVE Harry Potter.  The books, the movies (except #6), the actors, J.K. Rowling... They hold such a huge place in my heart and in my life that sometimes I can hardly stand them not being real.  Get over it.  Yes, I may be obsessed.  Not that weird.  Anyway, if you've never read them, READ THEM.  or LISTEN TO THEM.  and WATCH THEM. (Notice that's not an "or" - you should always read them, whether or not you also decide to watch them.)  And ponder on the greatness that is J.K. and the amazingness that is her creation.

I could keep gushing.  Really, I could.  But I'll allow you to keep the amount of respect you still have for me regarding my love of fictional ideas.  (That should be an insanely huge amount, considering how great these fictional ideas are, but I know some people just don't love them as much as I do.)  So goodnight.  Sweet dreams.  I hope they're about a boy in a scar who finds out he's a wizard.