Kid, you'll move mountains!

Today I do not really feel like blogging. But as I promised, I will write something, because what's the point if I don't stick with it. The past two days have been spent finishing a final report, so that counts for CEDFF. Speaking of CEDFF, I decided that was an annoying prefix to add to the title every day, so I'm going back to my quotes, because that's what I do. Ah, just came up with something of a theme for this post.

I'm very bad at creating my own aim in life sometimes. It's not necessarily a bad thing. I know what I'm doing on the large scale, but sometimes I don't know who I am. Am I the quiet one? Am I the protective one? I'm definitely not the smart one anymore. Maybe I'm just the one who doesn't know which one she is. It wouldn't be a big deal, except that I constantly categorize people. I think it's the occupational hazard of being an imaginary Hogwarts student - you constantly House people.

But that's besides the point. The fact is that I'm always looking for things that explain my life. Things that explain how I feel at the moment, things that represent my attitude towards the world, or just things that make me laugh. That's why I love quotes so much. Because there is always something relevant to any moment, any conversation, any attitude.

So I've decided to create a mini series for when I need an idea to blog about. I think that for today we'll go with:

Casey's Top 5 Inspirational Quotes [under construction: Always]:

In fifth place:
"Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes." - Unknown

This quote strikes me as so quintessentially Gryffindor. It's about being brave, speaking your mind even if you know it's not what people want to hear or if you're too scared to say it. I don't obey this one as much as I'd like to - or rather, I obey it at the wrong times. It's something I have to work on, but I am getting there. Funnily enough - another Gryffindor trait - being a douchebag and thinking their opinion is always the best one... No. I didn't mean that. Except a little bit.

In fourth place:

"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." - J.K. Rowling

For a very long time, and for very good reasons, I thought I was better off on my own. Letting people in just got me hurt and I did a better job getting through life without "teammates". But as with even the best laid plants, this didn't last forever as people are designed to want company regardless of what's happened in the past. Now I don't know what I would do without the friends I have now. Whether it's tackling a difficult assignment or banding together to beat the Dark Lord, I understand the importance of teamwork and overall picking friendship over a solitary existence. This little blurb doesn't really cover the feeling... but anyway.

In third place:

"I am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men." - Charles Darwin

Wise man, Darwin. For many reasons. His ability to search for the answers to life, while still remaining hopeful enough to consider himself an agnostic. His intelligence. His absolute passion for biology and science even when they aren't the most practical of jobs. And of course in this case. The advice to not always follow the path that's been laid down for you. If you're told something's the facts and you can't change it - damn well try your hardest anyway. No one ever got anything worth gaining my following the footsteps of others. Reach out for something new, something different. Don't let anyone tell you that they're the only one who knows what's out there for you. Dare to be different.

Charles Darwin, what a champ.

In second place:
"Always waste time when you have none and never knowingly be serious." - The Doctor

Now this quote should be taken with a grain of salt. There are obviously always times when you need to be serious and they don't say "time is of the essence" for no reason. But this quote is on the list because it outlines the importance of having fun and "wasting" time sometimes. "All work and no play..." is another way to put this, but in my recollection I cannot think of a time Matt Smith has said those words, so I'm more inclined to enjoy it this way.

Finally and Most Importantly: In first place:

"Be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life's a Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed)! Kid, you'll move mountains" - Doctor Seuss

I could possibly just type the entirety of "Oh, The Places You'll Go" into this and that wouldn't even cover all the amazing and inspiring quotes to be taken from Doctor Seuss. Cliche, I know, to have been provided with a copy of this book on graduation, but as quotes you learnt during emotional parts of your life often do, this one has stuck with me since 2008. I think I'll move mountains, and a p value of 0.0125 is very statistically significant so I'm happy to go with it.

So there you have it. My top 5 inspirational quotes ... of the moment. This list will change within a week. Five is just not a big enough number, however I'll most likely add more to this when I remember other fantastic ones.