“Love is the most powerful motivator in the world. It spurs mortals to greatness. Their noblest, bravest acts are done for love.”
Those words were spoken by the Greek goddess Aphrodite herself. Well at least she said them in Rick Riordan’s book “Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero” I must admit, even though the book is aimed at children aged between 9-11 (yes I am that immature) but it is an amazing book! It follows on from the “Percy Jackson” books (another set of amazing books) and even though they are complete fiction, they have helped out a lot over the years. They’ve killed a heck of a lot of time, plus when my friend’s talk about their old classical civilisation lessons and about Greek mythology, I can chime in a fair bit because I sort of know what I’m talking about. This makes me very happy. It also gives my brain a chance to float away to another world and allows me to become a character. You may be thinking right now “This girl is a complete nutcase” but can you honestly say you’ve never read a book and thought that you would want to be them? Unfortunately, as my imagination can get quite bad, I tend to get this with television as well. It’s extremely hard not to look at someone on TV, or read about a character in a book and go “I want to be them!” I am yet to meet a person that can prove me wrong. If I do find someone that feels that way, then I think the world will have started to become a much duller place.
Also, Greek mythology has always fascinated me. Aphrodite’s creation is one that is amazing, even if it is considered myth. Gaia and Ouranos, the gods of the Earth and Sky, gave birth to the Titans. One of these Titans was called Kronos, who famously chopped up his father Ouranos with a scythe given to him by Gaia. (how rude) A piece of Ouranos fell from the sky and landed in the ocean, creating sea foam. From this sea foam rose the goddess of love we have all come to know as Aphrodite. This makes her the last child of Ouranos. He was the god greater than any other Titan and god. It also makes Aphrodite the eldest Olympian. Fascinating isn’t it? I’ve been to Greece on holiday and been to the Athena Parthenon. I didn’t want to leave it was so beautiful.
However, back to the quote. As of the 3rd of May, I’ve had sod all to do. So I thought to myself, why not give my brain something to do and then I was literally hit on the head with this book. (Just to say this thought came at 4:24am when I couldn’t sleep and was sorting out my shelves. Awkward) After the minor headache vanished (It’s a thick book) I settled into it, and after several late night reading sessions, I got to page 427. That’s when Aphrodite meets her demigod daughter Piper. Piper is confused about her feelings towards another demigod, and her mother tells her the above quote about love, (which makes and awful lot of sense if you think about it carefully enough) as well as another one, which goes:
“Beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself – avoid trying to be something you’re not”
I’m not going to lie; this quote stood out to me the most. Out of a 551 page hardback book, those 2 lines mean more than anything else I have ever read. And do you want to know why? If you said no, then I’m going to tell you anyway. They mean more to me than anything else I have ever read because they are the truest words written. You might say that Maths etc is also the truest words ever written. Well yes they are, but they are facts, and this isn’t. It is a piece of fiction! And that makes it so brilliant!
And then it hit me (not the book again I was holding it this time) that when I was in secondary school and college, I was perfect in myself, in that I was completely myself. I did what I wanted, wore what I wanted to wear, ate what I wanted to eat, and I didn’t care about what anyone else thought. Since I came to university, I’ve found that I have had to change so much, not necessarily for myself but so that I can stand being away from home for 9 months. I have had to take care of myself, feed myself, and send myself to bed when I wanted to. I have to change into a person I never thought I would be. But you know what? I’m ok with it. As much as I miss the old me, the one who didn’t care what her face looked like when we woke up, the one who didn’t mind if her hair was Medusa-esque. (I made that look goooooooood) I feel more confident in the person I have become, even if I have had to change to become that better person. I’m still the same at heart, the fun-loving, lazy sod that has a hell of a lot of imagination. But I’ve had to tone it down a bit. (If you saw my room you’d be saying otherwise....just saying)
If you ever feel like you don’t like anything about yourself, ask yourself if you are being yourself, or trying to be something you’re not. If you are remaining true to your inner morals, and doing what you want to do with your life, then you are beautiful and perfect, and don’t ever change. Also, if you are ever feeling down, pick up a child’s fictional book, because it will be one of the best reads you ever have. I have the entire Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Skulduggery Pleasant and The Hunger Games collections, and they are the best reads I have ever had.
Live long and prosper
H. x
