Becoming a Buffy Fan

Last summer, a close friend took it upon herself to introduce me to some great TV shows, among them Arrested Development and How I Met Your Mother. The one that stuck with me, though, was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

I started watching Buffy about 9 years after it ended (thanks, Netflix), and I finished watching the show in less than 3 months. All it took for me to get hooked was the pilot, Welcome to the Hellmouth. 

While the ever-adorable Willow Rosenberg is far and away my favorite character, I think I like this show so much because I see a lot of myself in the title character, Buffy Summers. 

No, I'm not skinny or pretty or blonde or, well, a vampire slayer, but I am a little lonely, a little closed-off. Like Buffy, I have a small, but close, circle of friends. Also like Buffy, I sometimes run when things get tough. I'm a little snarky, I'm reasonably smart, but I don't try at school (Buffy did get a higher math+verbal SAT score than I did, but I like to think I would've beaten her in writing if she'd taken that portion). I was drawn to this show because I'm just like Buffy. 

Except I'm not. There are little nuances that separate us. She had a good relationship with her mother. She's been in love. She's a wholly and completely good person, even if she does make mistakes sometimes. 

I like that we have those differences, though, because it gives me someone to look up to. No, Buffy's not a real person, but she's real enough for me. 

She may not be Captain America, but that will never stop Buffy Summers from being my hero. 

A Very Potter Senior Year

I stayed up until 4AM to finish AVPSY tonight, and it was well worth it. I don't really have any eloquent words to describe my reaction to the musical (beautiful is really all that comes to mind), but I can say one thing:

I get it. I get it so very deep in my bones that it terrifies me.

AVPSY represents more than just an end the StarKid's Harry Potter musicals. It's the end of an era. It's the end of anything new for us kids in the Harry Potter generation. It's the end of the thing we grew up with, the books we love and cherish, the movies we gathered so eagerly to watch at midnight, the musicals we stayed up late to finish. It's the end of something so magical that it entranced a generation of children.

Yes, we will all remember Harry Potter. I know I will. Harry is the boy who taught me what love is. He taught me the values of loyalty and friendship. Most of the things I have, most of my better qualities, are there because I picked up a Harry Potter book when I was six, and it changed my life forever. For the rest of my life, Harry will be an ever-present figure. He's the boy who lived, after all, and he will live on in our hearts.

But, you know, I think AVPSY is even more than that. It's not just an end for us Harry Potter kids. It's a new beginning.

I am a senior in high school, and just like Harry, the big scary monster that is the future looms over me, watching my every move. I know what I want to do, what I want to be, but the boogie man is still there. The thought of losing my home and my family is terrifying.

But it's okay to be scared. There's more to life than high school, and everything must come to an end, even if it means big changes, scary changes.

AVPSY is all about accepting that fear and not letting it control you. It's about being brave and strong, conquering that big scary monster.

So I'll join Harry. I'll make the most of my own senior year. I'll graduate. I'll move on to new things, maybe bigger, maybe better. Who knows?

After all, "things come and go. Nothing lasts forever, kid. Nothing's built to."

Except Harry. He's someone I can always come home to. The boy who lived will always be in my soul.