You

Starry Night Tea – Sleepcast

| pocketdreams24

Hello friends, I hope you are all doing okay right now.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a bit of difficulty falling asleep. I have a very busy mind and it seems to enjoy talking to me even more when the stars come out. But it can always be soothed by a nice story.

Jade and I love the sleepcasts that Headspace offers, I’m pretty sure we’ve been through them all ! Which is what inspired me to write this sleepy story a little while ago, blending in a few of his favourite things to make falling asleep even easier.

I decided to make it available to all of you as well, in case you were in need of a new bedtime lullaby or just a happy place for your mind to roam. There’s nothing better than listening to our favourite person’s voice right ? So ask your partner, friend, sibling or parent if they can read this out loud to you as you get ready to fall asleep.

For those of you that will be doing the reading, I suggest using your most gentle, soothing voice (without being unnatural and creepy, it might take a few tries) and taking care to enunciate each word, pause at the commas and really take your time telling the story. Create a calm environment where no one feels rushed or distracted.

So put on your coziest pyjamas and snuggle up for some sweet dreams.

________________________________________

Good evening, I hope you are feeling nice and cozy in your big, comfy bed.

Let’s take a few moments to simply relax. (5 second pause.)

Feel the weight of your body sinking into the mattress.

Notice the gentle contact of your soft blankets on your arms, stomach and legs.

Imagine any tension in your body giving a quiet sigh of relief and slowly evaporating, leaving you feeling as light as air and as supple as water.

Picture this happening in your toes, your calves, your thighs, your hips, your stomach, your back, your chest, your arms, your throat and finally, your face.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Continue to focus on your breathing and as you do, imagine the air currents filling your lungs as two soft colours.

One colour is inhaled, another colour is exhaled.

(30 second pause as they breathe and visualize.)

___

It’s a calm, quiet night tonight.

Peaceful.

Lying in bed, it feels as if the whole world is also tucked up under a warm blanket.

You can almost hear the planet’s gentle breathing.

You turn your head slightly on your pillow to face the open window, expecting to look out into a deep blue night.

Instead, you see an enormous eagle, seeming as light as a feather, perched on your windowsill.

It is magnificent.

It is the same rich, midnight blue as the endless sky beyond it.

Its velvety feathers are speckled with glittering flecks of light that you can’t quite focus on.

The eagle fills you with a feeling of safety and tranquility.

As it gazes at you with its warm eyes, it blinks slowly and tilts its head as if asking, “Are you ready?”

It gently lowers its humongous head, inviting you to climb aboard and as you do, you notice that its broad back is as cushioned as your own bed.

You sink down between the eagle’s shoulder blades and it spreads its powerful wings, each one the length of your entire body.

You rest your head on the strong creature’s neck and it lifts off effortlessly into the sky, gliding along like a gently floating dandelion seed.

As you enjoy the feeling of the eagle’s smooth feathers against your cheek, you also realize that the breeze flowing around you is warm and comforting.

It smells familiar, like the sun on soft sand.

You climb higher and higher into the sky.

The eagle plays among the fluffy clouds, soaring to the top of them, to then glide slowly back through their cotton-candy-like forms.

Up and down.

Up and down.

In the most soothing way.

Eventually, you break through the thickest cloud and emerge into a vast, clear patch of sky.

It is filled with the most stars you have ever seen, all twinkling in different colours. White, blue, pink, green, purple.

You can make out different constellations and as you watch, the stars begin to move.

The Big Dipper pours out the Milky Way, swirling into a bowl-shaped cluster of stars, where the Little Dipper seems to be stirring star-filled cereal.

Next to it, Ursa Major, a majestic bear, chases Ursa Minor, a round baby bear, over rolling celestial hills.

The small bear scatters stars as it trips over its big paws and rolls over and over until it lands upon the summit of a glowing mountain.

Your eagle inclines its body and begins to descend toward the same mountain peak.

It alights softly and lowers itself down, indicating that it is time for you to disembark.

You slide down its side and land on the smooth white surface of the mountain top.

The eagle gives you a gentle nudge toward a glass domed house a short distance away.

You can see steam escaping its round windows and smell a delicious herbal scent coming from it.

It fills you with warmth and you know you are safe.

The baby bear, who had been curiously watching you this entire time, trots alongside you as you make your way toward the house.

Now that you are next to it, you realize that Ursa Minor is the size of a castle, a bright glittering castle, but its immense size only brings you more comfort.

You reach the spherical house and the bear lies down in its garden of white flowers as if saying, “I’ll wait for you here.”

You climb the steps and seeing no door, you step inside.

The bubble-shaped house is wonderfully warm and enveloped by a soft glow, seeming to come from inside its very walls.

These clear walls are lined with shelves upon shelves of tea.

Any and every type of tea you can imagine.

Green teas and black teas. Ginger teas and cinnamon teas. Ginseng teas and oolong teas. Even pie-flavoured teas and cotton-candy-flavoured teas.

Over to one side, you see a large clear teapot boiling away. As you watch, it lifts itself up on two transparent legs and walks itself over to a floating round table where it pours itself into a large blue mug.

You sink into a huge, cushy armchair next to the table and proceed to try one tea after another.

(30 second pause for all of the tea drinking.)

___

After a while, you feel very full in the most comfortable way and delightfully warm from the inside out.

Your eyelids begin to droop.

Ursa Minor gently sticks its muzzle in through the window and lifts you out of your seat, carrying you back toward the edge of the mountain.

The eagle has gone, but the bear lets out a soft hum and a swirl of clouds begins to form in the sky beyond.

As it draws nearer, the bear gives a satisfied grunt, sets you calmly on the ground and gives you a big, affectionate lick, covering your entire body with glimmering stardust.

It then turns and floats gently back into the night sky.

You watch it go and hear a soft whooshing sound behind you.

Turning, you see a wolf the size of a bus, made entirely of clouds.

Its long tail curls around it as it as it lowers its enormous head toward you, flapping its ears serenely.

You reach out a hand and it nuzzles its cheek against you, closing its eyes contentedly.

It then turns its head and places something warm into your palm.

You look down and see another small, glowing cup of tea.

It smells delicious and you understand that you need to drink it for the journey home.

You lift it to your mouth and swallow the soothing liquid.

You return your gaze to the empty cup and it transforms into a puff of cloud, floating upward to land on the wolf.

You lift your hands in front of you in wonder, for as the warmth of the tea spreads through your limbs, so does its glow.

Soon your entire body is glowing like a star and your feet begin to lift from the mountain surface.

You look toward the cloud wolf and it rises to accompany you, nodding reassuringly.

You feel peaceful and free.

Soon you are both soaring back over oceans, forests and more clouds, looping and gliding around each other in graceful movements.

The clouds are as soft as you always imagined when you would look at them from Earth. 

After a while of pure joy, you spot your own house below, nestled amongst its neighbours, as if it had been patiently waiting for you to come home.

You’ll never be quite sure how it happened, but somehow you ended up back in your bed and you had the very best sleep you can remember.

And sometimes, when you look up in the sky, you still see that wolf, high up in the clouds, watching over you.

Unique Date Ideas for YOU

| pocketdreams24

Hey you.

Yes you.

I know why you’re here.

You’ve decided you want to get out of the house more. Binge-watching TV shows and Harry Potter is great and all, but you’re tired of watching others live their exciting lives on screen, you want to find some adventures of your own. Stories worth telling the grandchildren about. None of that boring dinner-at-a-restaurant stuff.

Well never fear ! I am here to help !

We all know that it can be difficult to come up with date ideas, so here are some ready-made for you ! (I’ll allow you to take credit for them for extra brownie points.)

 

Affordable Date Ideas:

-Board game night at home : if you two have been together for a while, then you should try out Coupleopoly by the Dating Divas. You can customize your very own properties, making them all locations that are special to you and your significant other. You can also make hilarious mystery cards with all of your inside jokes ! Otherwise Exploding Kittens, Unstable Unicorns and Billionaire Banshee are great for some unique laughs. Sequence and Survive are also really fun options for the strategizers in you.

– Bake cookies + watch movies (alternate who gets to choose both cookie flavours & movie)

– Watch The Greatest Showman because it is the most magical, emotional, inspiring movie of all time (and invite me over so I can cry with you)

– Lie on the floor and make each other REALLY listen to all those song lyrics that make you think of them

– Play hide and seek outside in the dark (set some boundaries because you know – dark = monsters)

– Go to Chapters and collect a pile of books to sit and read together

– Run through Ikea (with or without a wine roadie) and design your dream Ikea home

– Try out the Dating Divas’ hilarious Mall Dares

– Plan a trivia night for who knows each other better. Again, the Dating Divas offer excellent printable options. (I know I’m obsessed with them, they just have such fun games!)  And add: “If you could have any superpower what would it be and why ?” Because this is a very important question.

– Declare a nerf gun war/ set up a nerf gun obstacle course

– Fill water balloons with paint and throw them on a canvas & at each other

– Climb rooftops to look at stars and talk about parallel universes or the weird worlds inside your heads

– Try a DIY paint night with Youtube videos

– Play charades

– Babysit for friends or family

– Get competitive with some video games (Mario Kart is pretty awesome)

– Learn each other’s Love Language

– Find some free concerts in your area

– Try to read each other’s tarot cards

– Sign up for Dirty Bingo (or regular bingo)

– Make your Bucket Lists together

 

Seasonal Date Ideas:

 

Winter:

-Go tobogganing*

-Go snowboarding/skiing*

-Build a snow fort*

-Have a snowman making contest to see whose snowman looks most like each other*

-Go skating*

-Release your inner warriors at laser tag, paintball, archery tag or axe throwing

-Explore Christmas markets*

-Wander around arts and craft fairs for unique gifts

-Explore the neighbourhoods with the best Christmas decorations*

-Have a Christmas movie marathon*

-Make the spaghetti from Elf

-Take a bubble bath (maybe don’t offer this as a first date idea)

-Make a 1000 piece puzzle*

-Build a LEGO set

-Play SIMS and build the most outrageous dream house, complete with an indoor otter aquarium wall

-Go paint some cute ceramics at your local pottery shop

*Hot chocolate is mandatory

 

Spring:

-Try your hand at gardening (see who’s the better plant parent)

– Attend a tulip festival

– Go rollerblading

-Set up ridiculous pranks to April fools each other

– Go swing on swings

– Visit an alpaca farm

– Make your own scavenger hunt/dare night with friends (Think One Tree Hill Style)

– Paint a mural on the walls of your apartment

– Have a photography day

– Walk some dogs for friends, neighbours or local shelters if you don’t have your own

– Build your own kite

– Organize a bubble soccer tournament (you can even buy your own bubbles at Canadian Tire if you want this to be a family tradition!)

– Make flower crowns

– Get some fabric paint and spruce up your old jean jackets

– Road trip !

 

Summer:

-Have a beach day

– Go swimming

– Go midnight skinny dipping

– Go play basketball

– Go play tennis

– Go play badminton

– Go play volleyball

– Go play

– Go snorkelling

– Play Frisbee

– Treat yoselves to an ice cream/froyo date

– Draw on the sidewalks with chalk

– Build your own soapbox cars & push each other down a hill

– Do some outdoor yoga

– Set up a surprise picnic with their favourite foods

– Rent a cottage with friends

– Play some lawn games

– Go kayaking, canoeing

– Go paddleboarding

– Go camping

– Have a bonfire with smores and scary stories

– Build a tree house

 

Fall:

– Go pumpkin picking

– Decorate the pumpkins you picked

– Go apple picking

– Bake some apple crumble with all those apples (this recipe is deliciouuusssss)

– Make some caramel apples

– Visit a Cat Café

– Go hiking to see the leaves change

– Collect pretty leaves on your hike and press them into a frame to decorate your place

– Go to a haunted house

– Make your own Halloween costumes

– Go trick or treating

– Watch a scary movie + eat Halloween candy

– Go on a tandem bike ride

– Go rock climbing

– Visit an aquarium

– Buy an escape room game and set it up at home

 

 

Whew ! I know this is a lot of ideas, but at the same time I’m probably forgetting so many fun ones ! You can pick your favourite, pick randomly, or even print them all out and create a date jar for your sweetheart to pick from.

I hope this inspired you and reignited that spark in you that loves to have fun !

After all, we’re all just giant kids that need to remember to go out and play as often as we can.

Now go make some memories !

15 Tips to Calm Your Mind

| pocketdreams24

We all have days, situations, moods and sometimes nothing specific at all, that cause us to worry. And at times, it can be quite difficult to climb back out of that black hole.

Whatever it is, I promise you, you will be okay.

In the meantime, here are a few pieces of advice that I’ve accumulated over the years that have helped me and that hopefully can help you too on days when your brain needs a little hug.

1- Close your eyes or take a soft focus and take deep, steadying breaths.

Concentrate on the way each breath feels as your chest, stomach and back expand and relax.

Count your number of inhales and exhales.

It often appeases my mind to imagine my inhalations as one colour, spreading all the way from my core down to the tips of my fingers and toes, farther and brighter with each inhale; and my exhalations as a different colour, shrinking and dimming as my body expels them.

2- Visualize a place that makes you feel calm and safe, it does not need to be real.

For example, I love to swim, it is when I feel the most free. So my calm place is me floating on warm, crystal blue waters, carried weightlessly high above white sands and sparkly shells, maybe even with a few harmless stingrays soaring around me, gazing up into a baby blue sky, finding shapes in the clouds.

And I remind myself that this place exists within me. And I am safe.

Find yours.

3- Imagine the worst case scenario for whatever situation you are facing and then picture yourself getting through it fine. This makes you realize that even if the thing you are dreading most happens, you will be okay.

4- For every negative thought, counteract it with a positive one.

This seems simple enough, but it must be used consciously and consistently to have a positive effect.

For example: “This is going to suck. – It might actually be fun.” Or, “I am so nervous. – But I am also so brave!”

5- Tell yourself that regardless of what happens, you have taken care of yourself and got yourself this far in Life and so you can rely on yourself no matter what ! You are smart, strong and courageous.

Believe it.

6- Don’t apologize. You have every right to feel the way you are feeling and you are feeling this way for a reason. Don’t feel guilty.

How would you speak to your best friend if they were feeling this way ? Try speaking to yourself in a similar fashion.

7- If you can, listen to uplifting, inspirational music. (I personally love “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman.)

8- Take baby steps.

Think of the next immediate thing you need to do and only focus on that. Once that is complete, think of the next thing and give that one thing all of your attention and energy.

And keep going, step by step.

When you break things down into smaller components, they don’t seem quite as daunting.

For example: “All I need to do right now is eat breakfast. Now I just need to go to my car. Now I need to simply drive down this street, now this street and this street. Now I need to park. Now all I do is walk through these doors. Now I introduce myself and listen.”

These are all simple tasks that we know we are capable of achieving.

9- You are not a victim.

Remember that this is your Life and you are in control of your decisions. Always make decisions that will lead you toward the best version of yourself.

If you chose to do this, it was for a reason and if you decide that it is not what is best for you, then you can always change your decision.

10- ACCEPT how you feel, don’t push it away. Feel what you need to feel, maybe even try to pinpoint where you feel it in your body and make a conscious effort to relax the muscles around that area.

Again, breathe.

Know that it is a feeling and feelings are temporary.

11- Talk about it.

It’s okay to say that you are feeling nervous, everyone has felt this way at some point or another and it will help those surrounding you to understand your feelings and behaviour and allow them to possibly help.

Honest communication is always better for both sides, as it relieves you from something that has been weighing you down and it opens a gateway for others to offer reassurances and/or advice; rather than leaving you to deal with unsaid and more often that not, untrue worries of what others are thinking.

12- Trust yourself.

You know how much you believe in the people you love ? That is how much they believe in you. That is how much all the tiny atoms in your body believe in you and take care of you and love you every day.

Remember that thing a few weeks, months, years ago that you didn’t think you could do ?

Well you did it.

And you can do this too.

13- Go outside if you can. Go for a walk. Listen to the sounds around you. Look up at the sky.

14- The sun will rise again tomorrow.

Something my Dad told me when I used to get nervous about literally everything.

No matter the worst possible outcome of whatever situation you’re worrying about, you have not set off an apocalyptic catastrophe. (Unless you’re a superhero dealing with bigger problems than most of us. If so, please let me know if you read my blog because that will make me feel very cool.) The world will keep spinning. The sun will rise again. And you will be dazzled by an infinite amount of new opportunities each and every day.

So even if this doesn’t work out, something else will.

15- Practice gratitude.

Thinking of things that you are grateful for is a wonderful way to remember what an amazing life you live and how very lucky you are. It often puts things into perspective, making you realize that you don’t need to worry this much. Regardless of how this interview goes, the people that love you will still and always will love you. No matter if this date sucks, you will still have eyes that can read books and see colours and watch your favourite movies. Even if you have a difficult first day at your new job, you will still have these lovely legs that can take you different places every day. And stars to gaze at and animals to love and songs to sing.

Even if things don’t go exactly as you have planned in that marvellous mind of yours, this world is still pretty great.

And you can make new plans tomorrow.

And with each one that doesn’t go quite the way you expect it to, it will get a little easier to enjoy this unpredictable ride.

Why don’t you try listing 3 things right now that you are grateful for, and see how you feel.

Goddess

| pocketdreams24

I have been very drawn to the word Goddess lately.

The word, the idea, the way that so many different people have their own individual perception of it.

I’ve seen artists’ depictions of glistening women with flowing hair and sparkling dresses.

I’ve smelled the perfume at Saje, that evoked forests, flowers and early morning mists all rolled into one.

I’ve read about the multiple Greek versions: strong, romantic, cunning, irresistible and unforgiving.

I’ve practiced the yoga pose, a gateway between the solidity of the Earth and the freedom of the Sky, bonded by our human body.

And I wondered, if I had to create my own version of a Goddess, what would it be ?

So I will attempt to make mine with words.

The Baby Goddess is filled with Wonder. She finds shapes in the clouds, leaps into every puddle, protects anthills from giant drops of rain. She has enormous dreams that change like the wind. One day she dresses up as a pirate, the next an astronaut, the day after that a mermaid and so on. Her world is full of possibilities after all. She feels emotions that are 10 feet tall, while her body barely reaches 3.

Her imagination comes to life through the stories she is read and she develops a hunger for more, longing to discover such adventures for herself.

As she grows, her focus strays.

The opinions of others weigh heavily on her and self doubt creeps in.

She loves certain people and is not loved in return. She lives through confusion, heartbreak, worry and the unforeseen.

She blossoms into a more mature Goddess, who returns her focus to her dreams. She must love herself fully, before devoting any of her energy to another. She turns her gaze inward, no longer seeking external validation.

She rediscovers her childlike wonder for the world around her. She wants to experience everything: see all the colours, taste the breeze, feel the sunshine and the rain soaking into her skin. The music she listens to resonates within her and shines down into the deepest corners of her soul. She dances wildly, spinning beneath the stars of this improbable galaxy, until she’s dizzy and breathless with delight.

She has days where she longs to be as delicately beautiful as a flower, growing so courageously in the most challenging of conditions and adding colour and joy to the lives of those around it.

Other days, she dreams of being as devastating and powerful as a hurricane, a force of nature that no one dares to try to control; or a stroke of lightning, terrifying the ones it strikes, but allowing them to survive and reevaluate the kind of mark they are choosing to leave on this world.

Every day she protects the innocent, the animals, the children, the pure of heart.

She will defend them with every ounce of herself, because everything that is good and kind and honest is what should be preserved forever.

She has struggled and been terrified of her own existence.

But every day she gets up.

Every day she tries.

She refuses to live a life based on fear.

This Goddess.

She lives inside of YOU.

YORK U: Which Hogwarts House are YOU in ?

| pocketdreams24

From the moment I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, I awaited my Hogwarts acceptance letter.

It hasn’t come yet.

So in the meantime I attended York University for muggles.

I spent my time wondering who would be in which House if we were at Hogwarts. (I probably should have spent this time studying, but they didn’t have any classes with hippogriffs there, so who’s really to blame ?) Although they do have a Quidditch team, a strong asset to keep in mind if you are considering attending this school. And all day pancake breakfasts, but that’s beside the point.

Obviously this should not be a one-size-fits-all type deal, but since I did not get to know all 55 000 students individually, I figured I would try to base my decisions off the Colleges everyone was split into, depending on the subject they chose to study.

Since some information for certain colleges was sparse, I may have sprinkled in some personal bias.

*I would like to state that this article was purely done for my own amusement and is in no way affiliated with Harry Potter or York University, nor is it intended to be offensive or ostracizing in any way.

However I do give you my permission to consider it a scientific journal that you may use in your essays, since I have graduated and am thus your well educated elder.*

LET US BEGIN.

If you are unfamiliar with the characteristics of each Hogwarts House, or would like a little refresher, you may scroll down to the bottom of this article.

I am sure everyone knows which house they want to be in, but please allow me to play the Sorting Hat.

BETHUNE College: Faculty of Science and Engineering.

A short, uncomfortable looking Bethune Dragon wearing thick-rimmed glasses edges sideways onto the stage. He mutters a speech so quickly that it’s difficult to distinguish exactly what he’s saying. But we THINK he said that his college puts a large amount of emphasis on the importance of community. They work hard to organize social gatherings for their peers and dedicate a lot of time and energy to their student council.

“Hmmm…” says I, the Sorting Hat. “Bethunians are known to be quite friendly but somewhat shy and quiet. I think I’ll sort you into … HUFFLEPUFF.”

Polite clapping can be heard from the Hufflepuff table.

CALUMET College: Faculty of Health, Department of Psychology & also affiliated with the Schulich School of Business.

A very clean looking student, wearing all grey, with their hair tucked tightly behind their ears, walks with their head held high up onto the stage. They claim that since they were all extremely advanced readers as children, the Calumet Cougars highly value their students, the same way one might value a rare book. They encourage collaboration, mentorship, engagement and being bold ! “How does this make you feel ?” They ask, trying to stare up inside the Sorting Hat.

“Aahhh,” says the Hat. “Proud, inquisitive and trying to understand the development of my mind. I can see that you are definitely intelligent and curious, but I also saw you staring off into space, lost in your own thoughts earlier. This makes you excellent candidates for … RAVENCLAW.”

Ravenclaw finishes noting what was said, cheers and pats invitingly on their therapy sofa chaise longue.

FOUNDERS College: Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies.

A giant phoenix mascot hops up onto the stage next and drops a pile of queue cards. The top one lands face up reading, ‘Theme: Self, Culture & Society.’

“Whoops !” The phoenix utters cheerfully. It raises it’s arms and says: “We are Founders ! We like lots of stuff, meeting new people and will always come to your parties and bring tons of PIZZA !”

The Sorting Hat has to yell “GRYFFINDOR!” over the already cheering crowd.

GLENDON College:

Three petite girls, all wearing pleated skirts and sweater vests step up onto the stage. They look back at their mascot, a blue Lion wearing a crown, named Richard Coeur de Lion. It gives them an encouraging thumbs up and says something in French.

They begin showing a slideshow of their own unique, small but beautiful campus.

Someone in the crowd throws a croissant and hits one of them on the head. The other two quickly stand up for their blushing friend.

The Sorting Hat raises its voice over the French insults flurrying from the indignant Glendon students. It tells them that they would fit in quite splendidly at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, more than any house in Hogwarts.

They seem quite pleased by this result and head off to catch their carriage.

MCLAUGHLIN College: Supports the programs of Criminology, Global Political Studies and Social Sciences.

A friendly faced student wearing a t-shirt with a wolf head printed on it, walks up onto the stage and sits down, putting the Hat on without saying anything.

“Pleasant, calm and eager to participate in inter-college activities…you should be with HUFFLEPUFF !”

The Hufflepuffs clap excitedly for their second set of members, one even going as wild as to yell “Woohoo !”

NEW COLLEGE: Supports the programs of Administrative Studies, Information Technology, Human Resource Management and Disaster and Emergency Management.

A student hurries into the room wearing an Eagle mascot head over their sweatpants. They request quietly if the Sorting Hat could meet them in their student council office since they are busy planning workshops, playing video games and racing those chairs with wheels on them down the halls.

The Sorting Hat flatly refuses but does inform the student that they will be joining Hufflepuff.

The Hufflepuff table is beside itself at this point and quickly hurries off to join in the wheely-chair races.

STONG College: Faculty of Health, Nursing and Kinesiology.

Next, a football player in full team uniform, jumps onto the stage and reads haltingly off a torn sheet of lined paper: “The Stong Spartans are committed, uh, to innovation while preserving the values of diversity and incloo – incloosivy – BEING AWESOME.”

He then proceeds to tell a bunch of sports related jokes as all of the girls in the crowd giggle and swoon whenever he smiles at them.

The Sorting Hat has to cut him off to announce that Stong is a perfect candidate for GRYFFINDOR.

The jock student screams “SPARTANS RULE !” and jumps off the stage to crowd surf over to the Gryffindor table.

VANIER College: Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies.

A group of mismatched students runs onto the stage, waving a large banner that reads in multicoloured (maybe also glow in the dark ?!) paint: “LOUDLY AND PROUDLY UNDECIDED AND STILL COOLER THAN U”. The students chant what is written on the banner and then break into an energetic dance party, one of them twirling around on their head so enthusiastically that they almost fall off the stage.

The Sorting Hat contemplates them for a moment as they finish their dances, then says: “While you gladly welcome others into your group and your extroverted personalities certainly lead you to enjoyable experiences, they can also push you to be slightly reckless. Give a roar for the Panthers as they enter … GRYFFINDOR !”

The Gryffindor table in turn pulls out a giant boombox and starts doing the Macarena to Hotline Bling by Drake.

WINTERS College: School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design.

The room goes eerily quiet as the lights dim and for a moment, everyone questions whether the sorting is over. A thick mist fills the room and just when the crowd starts to push their chairs back to leave, glittering sparklers light up the dark.

Students flood the stage, all of them wearing hooded robes. They toss aside their spluttering sparklers and split into two groups, one breaking into a mysterious acapella and the other beginning an interprative dance. One boy, with his face painted like a cat, prowls back and forth across the front of the stage on his hands and knees, meowing and throwing sparkling confetti into the crowd. They top everything off with a student reciting a poem about how no one understands Van Gogh as well as they do and throwing a bucket of yellow paint over the head of the person nearest to them.

An echoing silence fills the hall. The Sorting Hat chuckles and says, “I have heard of you. Most creative, intelligent and unique. I even heard a rumour of a naked witching hour on the annual boat cruise hmmm ? I would suggest hanging a portrait outside of your private pub and adding a difficult password, since I’m sure after this performance everyone will be wanting to congratulate you on joining … RAVENCLAW !”

The Ravenclaw table scoops up the glitter confetti from the floor and showers it over their new arrivals, happy to welcome such creative spirits to their ranks.

Finally we have Osgoode School of Law.

A single, severe looking student dressed in a sleek black suit steps onto the stage. One of the new Ravenclaws hands them a flyer inviting them to a party organized for all of the colleges after the sorting. The Osgoodian takes it with two fingers and a disgusted expression, tears it in half and places it inside their briefcase. They then attempt to slide their laminated keycard into the Sorting Hat’s slit of a mouth.

As soon as it was spat back out, the Sorting Hat yells: “SLYTHERIN !”

Looking disgruntled, the Osgoode student asks for an official vote from the jury and is laughed off of the stage. As they are leaving, they scream that their father will sue everyone present, hop onto their Segway and zoom back to their building where only others with laminated keycards are permitted to enter.

_

There we have it.

It has been my pleasure in sorting you all into your respective houses.

Please feel free to share this with your fellow witches and wizards and do refrain from telling me to “EAT SLUGS” if you are unhappy with the house you end up in.

NOW LET THE FEAST BEGIN.

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Hogwarts Houses

The first is the House of Godric Gryffindor:

⁃ Colours: Red & Gold

⁃ Animal: Lion

⁃ Element: Fire

⁃ Qualities: Brave, daring, athletic, chivalrous, popular

⁃ Faults: Hot headed, arrogant, reckless, self-righteous

__

Then we have the House of Rowena Ravenclaw:

⁃ Colours: Blue & Brown

⁃ Animal: Eagle

⁃ Element: Air

⁃ Qualities: Very intelligent, creative, curious, self-sufficient, individualistic

⁃ Faults: Disconnected from the outside world, snobby, isolated

__

Following is the House of Helga Hufflepuff:

⁃ Colours: Yellow & Black

⁃ Animal: Badger

⁃ Element: Earth

⁃ Qualities: Loyalty, dedication, honesty, humbleness

⁃ Faults: Naivety, poor self-esteem, lack of ambition

__

And finally we have the House of Salazar Slytherin:

⁃ Colours: Green & Silver

⁃ Animal: Serpent

⁃ Element: Water

⁃ Qualities: Cunning, ambitious, resourceful, determined

⁃ Faults: Unscrupulous, power hungry, discriminatory

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All information used to describe the Hogwarts Houses was sourced from: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Harrypotterhouses

Certain information describing York University’s colleges was sourced from: https://colleges.yorku.ca/ and each college’s respective Facebook page.

The Least Interesting Thing About You

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“You have such pretty eyes”, “Your skin is so smooth”, “You have a beautiful body”, “You’re absolutely gorgeous”.
These are all flattering compliments, don’t get me wrong. But while your appearance may be eye-catching, the way you look is without a doubt the least interesting thing about you.
My sister once told me that she has no control over what she looks like, she didn’t work hard on what she was born with, so she would much rather have someone acknowledge the things that she puts effort into or that constitute her unique self.
“I love your weird sense of humour” – “I love how kind you are” – “I am fascinated by the way you see the world” – “Your passion inspires me” – “I love your attention to detail” – “I want to learn to appreciate the little things the way you do” – “Your creativity blows my mind” – “The way you stand up for what you believe in is so courageous” – “You make the best grilled cheeses in the universe” – “Your spontaneous sense of adventure changed my life” – “Your calm understanding allows me to be myself and feel at home” – “Your fierce loyalty to the ones you love is influential” – “Your optimism is uplifting” – “Your curiosity for the deeper things in Life is so stimulating” – “Your energy is irresistible” – “Your excitement when you see puppies brightens my day” – “I still think about those words you said” – “Searching for constellations in the stars with you is the best part of my day” – “The spark inside of you that lights up your entire being when you do/talk about what/who you love could set the whole world on fire”
“You are the most riveting creature I have ever met”.
My personal favourite is a quote from “Clockwork Prince” by the enchanting Cassandra Clare (one of my most loved authors of all time): “And he is really alive, one of the most alive people I have ever met. When he feels something, it is as bright and sharp as lightning.”
We all have a one of a kind combination of quirks that makes us who we are and that is what needs to be celebrated. We must nourish our eccentricities so that our truest selves can bloom and add their colours to this giant puzzle of life. We don’t need another person to feed us compliments or shower us with attention, we need to compliment ourselves and pay attention to ourselves. We know ourselves like no other, from the deepest darkest fears to the brightest glimmering dreams, which means that we can love ourselves in a way that no one else can.
Always be proud of your quirks, and always ask yourself if you are prioritizing what is truly important to you. There is no limit to how captivating you can be.
The least interesting thing about you
Photo credits go to Pinterest for allowing me to be inspired by VSCO’s Karalinegreen14’s awesome photography.
Here’s the link to her page in case any of you want to check her out, (I am personally obsessed with her stunning sunset pictures).