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The first (or second) batch of senior wizards

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  • The first (or second) batch of senior wizards

    I just finished reading AWoM and it occurred to me how much Young Wizards can be (and in my case, was/is) a great theory for ethical living. I realized that YW has, because I picked up SYWTBAW in elementary school or middle school and kept reading from there, quietly shaped who I am and how I think in relation to the world around me. I, with a slight grin, call myself a wizard now not because I can pull off the literal magic described in the books (the existence of which is technically debatable, but that's for another topic) but because I have a wizard's mindset in regards to life (at least as how I see it): don't lie, help others, sacrifice when necessary, and do everything you can to make the world better one piece at a time. Now, granted, this is my interpretation of things, so your mileage may very and I may be crazy. Although, as the Billy Joel song says: "You may be right, I may be crazy, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for".

    Upon reflecting on all of the YW thoughts, I came to the conclusion that, for me, So You Want to Be A Wizard WAS the manual, just like it was for Nita. It wasn't a manual like hers in the sense that hers allowed her to physically perform magic, but it's still a manual -- an introduction to a concept of decency and ideals that can be practiced by anyone, as long as they're willing to see and accept it. The later books, like how the manual expands as the wizard's knowledge does, expand on the concepts and introduce new ideas (like the shades of grey in the fight against "evil" concept at the end of WoM).

    On to the reason for the post title. I noticed in wandering around the boards that many here are like me. We picked up YW at an earlyish age (for me, and many others from what I can tell, it was about 12 or 13, which is the age listed in the manual as the wizardly starting age) and have stayed with it until adulthood. Many others have probably discarded the books as they age, calling them "childish". I would argue that those of us that have stuck with the books are the first batch of "senior" wizards. We've taken the ideals to heart and use them in the world at large, picking up folks along the way who think the same way we do and helping them use their knowledge and skills to help make the world a better place. Those that have discarded the books are like the people the manual talks about who have discarded Wizardry because they no longer believe in it. Granted, people like us have existed since the dawn of time, so we technically aren't the first ones to do what we do, but we've taken YW to heart. It's a different way to approach the same thing, essentially. I say we're the first or second group of "seniors" because the books have been out long enough that some folks still with the books could theoretically be 30, although from what I've seen, most of us "older folks" are 18-24, although that could also be because we're the oldest ones still wandering around forums.

    I feel like this isn't entirely coherent, so I apologize if it's a bit confusing, and someone's probably said this before, so I apologize for the potential repeat, but discussion/expansion of the idea would be nice. Anyone else feel this way?
    _______________
    "I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me."
    Insecurities are about as useful as trying to put the pin back in the grenade.

  • #2
    That is a beautiful sentiment .

    As soon as I could read, I read a lot. Little bookworm, always asking to go to the library to pick up some more and drop others off. From age 11-17, I don't think that I would ever take home any less than four books!

    I've traveled to many wonderous universes, helped save the day or just came along for the ride, been down and out and up and at 'em. But I do agree that no other series can do that quite like the YW series. A lot of things that we are attracted to end up having some influence on who we are and how we grow, no doubt novels count. See, they show us the world before we can even begin to explore it, and then take us places that not everyone will get to go. It's fantastic.

    I love the moral code of the wizards. I live by it as my philosophy, naturally- for many reasons, and one of them may be that as I was reading, a little of that world was brought to me, and to others.

    This type of thing is hard to put into words sometimes, no worries friend.
    ^(^.^)^

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    • #3
      ...ahem...

      ... don't be so sure that the over-30 crowd is not present ...

      For me, I love this particular secondary universe (to borrow a term from Tolkien), but it wasn't "an introduction to a concept of decency and ideals" for me - rather, it resonated with a concept of decency and ideals that I already had as a child. There are so many "secondary" worlds out there that resonate with the same or similar ideals and types - one might say that those worlds were "seeded" with ideals from our primary* world.

      *in Tolkien's vocabulary, "primary" refers to what others might call "the real world" - i.e. the one that we live in, as opposed to the "secondary" worlds that our storytellers, bards and artists reveal to us. In his idea, which I find to be a pretty accurate description of what happens for me, the secondary worlds help us recover what we tend to ignore, which is already here in the primary world - by putting it in a different setting so we are motivated (or even empowered) to pay attention to it
      Last edited by SpacePen; August 23, 2011, 08:14:48 AM.

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      • #4
        I apologize for the incorrect assumption. It was based on the knowledge I had and what I had seen which was, admittedly, very little. Good to know I was wrong.

        And you may very well be right. Unfortunately for me, those particular memories are far too gone and too entwined with the the books for me to tell which came first, the books or the ideals. I guess I'm a bit of a romantic, so I really like the concept of the books giving the ideals. And nice reference to current events.
        _______________
        "I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me."
        Insecurities are about as useful as trying to put the pin back in the grenade.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Gorramshiny View Post
          Unfortunately for me, those particular memories are far too gone and too entwined with the the books for me to tell which came first, the books or the ideals.
          Chicken or the egg syndrome .
          ^(^.^)^

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          • #6
            Wow... Thanks for the thoughts Gorramshiny; I'd never really thought of them that way before. I fall into the 18-24 age bracket (though I'm rapidly approaching the upper end of it). These books have stuck with me in a way that very few others ever did - the lessons hit home and stuck. I remember reading SYW just before I turned 12 and gobbling it up and being surprised and excited about the description of a potential wizard - it fit me to a 'T' at the time, and hoping that it was real harder than I had about anything else I'd read.

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