Forbidden Friendship

There are those things in life that take you by surprise. It can be a new friend, a new favorite food, recognizing a quality characteristic in a sibling, seeing that you cut yourself accidently at some point in the day, or that you really do know how to swim without receiving the proper training (don't try that at home, or in a public pool).

I think there are often times that there are things that people tell us not to do, or that it is not allowed. given, most of the time the advice given (or more often rule) is there for a reason and should be followed for your safety as well as others'. but i would say that there are times in life where you have to go against other people's better judgment or prejudice or bias as well as your own and go off on a limb. the unknown is scary and so often the unknown has rules behind it. because of Forbidden Friendship, I am more willing to push through the barrier.

my favorite dreamworks film is How to Train Your Dragon. i would think it to be a very relateable film because everyone has felt at one time or another that they were left out or picked on or bullied. i also think that everyone has had a moment in their lives where they have been told that something is bad and to stay away from it, like chocolate, or disney films, or a particular friend. there are many elements to this movie that i love.

first, i love the idea that hiccup finds an amazing friend in someone who he was taught to fear and rightly so, these creatures were stealing their animals and burning their village. but i would ask, how often is it so simple as "i feel like stealing something today" or more applicable "i feel like being mean to this person," "i am going to say something i regret," or "i will deliberately not do something for this person?" It is difficult to put ourselves outside of our own situation of justified fear, frustration, and anger to be in the head of the perpetrator. At the core, we are all tied up and trying to get out of the bind. and in the midst of angst, fear, doubt, and the pressures of conforming (discussed below), hiccup raises above it all. that's were he makes a friend, and what a formidable friendship they make. the begins with a scare or intense moment, with some circling and pondering of what to do next, with creeping forward of an idea, one that his whole mind is telling him is wrong, but his instincts tell him that it is right. this creature is more than a killer, more than a perpetrator. there is a build-up waiting to be released, almost an anxious feeling, what will he do when others find out his secret...what is his secret? does he even know? then a calming and finally the energy is let loose.

this track inspires me to want to do more and not necessarily in any particular way, but at the same time in every way. i want to burst the build up and release all the energy and accomplish the goals in mind. in doing so, i am sure there is a friend to be made, that i wouldn't otherwise make.

second theme that i love from the movie, the idea that everyone in the viking village has conformed to this idea of slaying dragons. hiccup is different, but he's not the only one that is different, but he is the one that decides to embrace his difference once he finds his nitch. but it takes him a long time to accept his oddity, that he didn't want to kill dragons. why do we wait so long to embrace our differences? instead we spend so much time and energy trying to have the talents and strengths that others have. hiccup embraces his intellectual knowledge and his feelings of not being aggressive. by accepting himself, others around him are able to be themselves and show their talents outside of the slaying dragons.

so i ask you, what talent are you hiding because you want someone else's talent? and who around you is hurting and needs you to put yourself in their shoes? could the potentially be your next best friend?