Author: Caelyn Murphy

If you know me, then you know I talk about my mom 24/7—whenever I get the chance to bring her up. Not just because I love her more than anyone, but because I appreciate everything she does for me, whether I always tell her that or not. From the start, it’s really only ever been me and her. Sure, we live with my grandparents, but I’ve always gravitated towards her. Having a kid means to make harsh sacrifices and decisions that I never truly took into account until I got older. 

Looking back, I wish I’d been more affectionate towards my mommy when I was a kid, but now, I’m trying to make up for that lost time. Just the other day, she got confused when I referred to her as ‘mommy’ instead of ‘mom.’ She wasn’t angry, just wondering why I’d suddenly switched up. I told her it was my way of showing my love, and that she should probably become used to it for the foreseeable future. It’s time I made up for being such a stubborn child.

Now, I could ramble on and on for thousands of words about the woman who singehandedly raised me, but I’d rather just share the important stuff and save everything for another time. In a way, we sort of grew up with one another. That’s not to say she was super young when she had me, but perhaps not fully matured, as you’re not considered ‘mature’ until you’re twenty five. I admire the strength she had to take on the responsibility of raising a child at nineteen, especially when my father slowly started showing how unprepared he was for a baby. 

I may not remember my entire childhood, but looking through memories, I know I was loved. Her best friends became my god parents, my uncles and aunts, and I was the first child of her group. I was everyone’s baby. I had plenty of toys and was always in someone’s arms. I was cared for, never wanting for anything. When he moved out with my grandmother and her husband, things changed. She no longer lived so close to her friends and had the help—only the help of two people who’d finished raising their children long ago. 

I regret being the reason my mom didn’t finish college and pushed herself through grueling job after grueling job. I told her constantly that once I go to college, I want her to re-enroll, to build a life outside of me—the one she could have had had I not come along. I don’t think she regrets having me, no, she loves me and I know that. I only wish I had not been so hardheaded as a child, so eager to rebel, that she could have had an easy life. That’s what I plan to give her—to work hard and let her put up her feet, to let me take care of and love her the way she has always done to me. 

Everything I do is not only for myself, but for her. I one day want her to be able to not slave over a minimum wage job, to be able to rest her aching feet for once in her life. To not have to worry about how to get groceries for the week and still have enough money left over for bills.  Basically, the whole point of this rant is to talk to you all about the woman who’s always been there for me, my biggest supporter, and the most caring person I’ve ever met.

“You reap what you sow.” — This happens to be one of my favorite quotes to date. If you don’t believe in karma, then you may not believe in the consequences of your actions, but I do. I think all past actions come back fourfold, no matter how much later in life it is. The quote reminds me of the stereotypical plotline in movies or shows where the bully ends up needing help from the said person they bullied. Galatians 6:7-8 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit reap eternal life.” Now, I have not read the entire bible, nor do I go to church every Sunday, but I live by these words. My whole childhood, I wished those words on people who did me wrong, and grew angry and confused when nothing happened to them. Wait guys, I was just an angry child, not psychotic. As I got older, I realized that everything comes in time, and karma has a way of coming back to you.

I swear I don’t mean to sound like a Disney villain when I say that, I just love philosophy. In most stories you read, an unfortunate event will befall the antagonist that serves as a reckoning of their actions. A good example would be one of my personal favorite movies, “Mean Girls.” At the end, Regina suffered the results of spreading nasty rumors by getting hit by a bus and receiving a spinal injury, alongside losing her friends and having her popularity questioned. And see, I’ve had my own experiences with the proverb. The only instances I particularly remember that I can share publicly is when I used to have sticky fingers as a child. Later on, a lot of my own things would go missing and I never found them again. That was my karma—losing my own things since I had stolen.

My reasoning for sharing that is so you don’t think these words are just that—words. Words come from truths, and reaping what you sow is a truth set in stone. You can change all you want, become a better person, but what deeds you have done still lie with you. You cannot make someone’s life a living nightmare, and then get to live out your life happily forever. Repercussions, people. The point is, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, or you’ll reap what you sow. Don’t make up rumors about people, or talk behind their backs, or bully someone for being different. Because, in the end, those said actions will come back to haunt you.

Has anyone else watched “House of the Dragon,” or is it just me? The first season, from the visual shots to the casting, was pure perfection to me. Then again, my entertainment taste has been regarded as questionable. But, as the new seasons have begun coming out, people who have been fans of the books since they first came out have become irritated by the decrease in book accuracy. The story goes that the decline in quality started long before the author of the books, George R. R. Martin stepped back from the show. According to various sources, the director of the adaptation, Ryan Condal, strayed from the book before the show even aired, causing disagreements between the creator of the books and the maker of the show.

Me personally, I’m one of the fans that are annoyed by the wandering plot, especially with season three now airing a new episode every week. As someone who has read the books, I understand that not everything can be book-accurate, especially when it comes to fantasy books being put on the big screen. The dragons aren’t going to be as large as I read they were, I know that, but at the very least, the costumes can be somewhat precise for the story’s royal family. Rhaenyra had lavish taste, guys, take notes—she was a teenager who had the best seamstresses in the realm, of course, she shouldn’t be dressed in ill-fitting, basic dresses. The problem is, it goes so much further than costumes simply not being exact—it’s entire plot lines being rewritten in ways that likely will not tie the ending together as the book did.

What is the point of adding random side storylines that add absolutely nothing to the overall plot? You tell me. The show is starting to seem more like a fanfiction of the book, rather than a conversion of the book itself. And believe me, if you start viewing it that way, it will make your mood improve. But, for me, it’s gotten to the point where I no longer find interest in watching the show. I haven’t watched a single episode from season three, nor have I even finished season two. If there’s anything in the episode worth watching, it’ll be posted on tiktok with just the right amount of seconds to make me watch. And any controversial and overall ‘weird’ scenes in the episode? People will talk about that, too.

There could have been so many better ways to adapt the book into an actually enjoyable show, but it is simply far too late to save what was made of it. Until things start becoming accurate, book fans will be outraged by what the show has become. “House of the Dragon” is burned into the internet, and likely will not be getting a revision to appease viewers anytime soon.