Fandom Fashionista

So much can happen so quickly. In the blink of an eye you can be in another place, another mood, another state-of-mind.

When people say “hindsight is 20/20″, do they mean they didn’t have the slightest belief that anything of consequence would happen? If someone asks you if you have expectations, is it acceptable to answer, “No, but I have predictions.”

Nine months ago, we might have talked for hours about what might happen this Summer. We may have argued at length about who we’d meet or where we’d go or what we’d do. We could have theorized or analyzed or expected about situations and the people involved. I can’t remember all of the times we sat while we waited (for food, for someone to arrive, for something to start, etc.) and chatted for hours about what was ahead; the people, the music, the bonds, and the romances.

No talk, no discussion, could have ever prepared us for what occurred.

It wasn’t some stereotypical drama where crimes were committed, loves were lost (or found), or adventures were had; it was more than that, but still less. It’s hard to explain, but it was the unraveling that really surprised us.

We unraveled the mysteries of who people are. Sure, we had expectations: we had heard things and only believed half, but still wanted to see for ourselves. We got to see who people really are. The unraveling.

We unraveled the riddles of who we are, and more so what we are. We unraveled the question of what we want. Thread by thread, I think we discovered more about each other than we could have ever predicted. That was the unraveling.

If the last nine months was spent predicting and preparing, then the next 9 months will be growing and learning.

—

The year since Deathly hallows was published has been both wonderful and terrible for me. In these more recent past few months, I have learned more about myself and others than I may have through all of college and high school. These lessons haven’t made me frightened or more cautious or even hesitant about the future. Instead, I feel that I’m finally getting control and finally understanding the world a little better.

There are people in this life who will find you, somehow, and you will realize (maybe instantly) that you are better for having known them. These are the people who will stand by you. They will struggle with you. They will laugh with you. They will be strong for you when you are weak. These are the bonds you will make that are everlasting. You will have no problem showing these people the same love they have unconditionally shown you.

But not everyone is like this. There are some who will deceive you. It’s not the mask they wear or the tales they tell; it’s not even their eyes that seem insincere. You’ll know them by their lack of humanity (literally, they are non-people). They will only reveal themselves in their inability to show you their courtesy, their manners, and their truth. You may not see it right away, but in time you will.

In a summer where I was once worried about petty squabbles and now find myself grieving over a loss, I have very little to say about the whole season as to the ordeal itself.

As for the fashion, get ready for some of the hottest, swankest, drop-dead fiercest looks to ever hit the ballroom dancefloor. It didn’t stop at the gloves, or the bustles, or the leggings. The fashion was flowing like MONDO y’all.

Just you wait.