Becoming Harry Potter: Escaping the Dursleys

“The wizards represent all that the true ‘muggle’ most fears: They are plainly outcasts and comfortable with being so. Nothing is more unnerving to the truly conventional than the unashamed misfit!” –J.K. Rowling

The Dursleys are true muggles. They detest uniqueness. Abhor imagination. And care so much about what everyone else thinks of them that they can’t see who they truly are. In order to become Harry or Hermione or Ron or Neville or, especially so, Luna we cannot be true muggles. We have to be unashamed misfits.

Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Our friendships shape our character.

For Harry to become a wizard, he had to leave behind the true muggles and go to Hogwarts. He had to go some place to feed the misfit inside. He didn’t cut off the Dursley’s completely, though he probably would have if he could, but he spent the majority of his time with friends who fed into the person he wanted to be. The same is true of Hermione. She loved her parents, but they were dentists. To be a witch she had to go where the witches were.

Ron and Luna were born misfits into misfit families, but they still had a choice to make. Misfits can be misfits in good ways and in bad—the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix are both groups of misfits.

Challenge: Write down the five people you spend the most time with. Next to their name write either “MG” for muggle or “MF” for misfit. Muggles are those who desperately want to fit in. They turn their nose up at anyone who strives to be different or go against the status quo. They are the negative voices in our ear telling us to conform, don’t embarrass them. They are also the dream crushers. The ones who tell us we “can’t.” They are the Dursleys.

Contrarily, the misfits love us for what makes us different. They are not ashamed to be labeled abnormal. They prefer taking the right path over the easy. They are the crowd most likely to join Dumbledore’s Army despite the threat of Umbridge (or the Death Eaters despite the threat of the Order of the Phoenix).

Evaluate your list. Are there more MG’s or MF’s? If there are more MG’s and you want to be an MF, reevaluate how much time you give these Dursleys. Those people who suck the life out of you. I’m not saying to cut them out cold turkey, though in some cases you may have to, but to reevaluate who you allow to influence you the most.

We are who we are friends with. Choose wisely and, perhaps, choose a Weasley. 😉

Are you an unashamed misfit? #UnashamedMisfit and tell us why.

Next Week: Becoming Hermione Granger