Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow...

The Penguins lost. Ray Shero got fired. Bylsma is expected to follow.

Would it be wrong to say I expected them to lose?

Every year, there are teams that seem unbeatable. Their intensity is unbreakable. And this year that team was not the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Why you ask? Inconsistency. A lack of effort on some days and too much on others. Overconfidence. And most importantly, a lack of love.

The New York Rangers had Martin St. Louis's grief to rally around. The LA Kings had their pride. The Chicago Blackhawks had their cup. The Habs had Canada.

The Penguins were supposed to fight for Marc-André Fleury. It was supposed to be their season of redemption. Their season to show how much they would do for each other. How much they loved each other.

We watch our sports because of the brotherhood it shows. For me, in a way, it is a consistent show of how much humans can still love each other.

In a world with so much darkness and negativity, it gives us something to cheer for. People to share joy with. Because when they win, we win too. That is OUR team. They are "us". You are a part of that team.

Penguins Shirt Day...I need a Fleury one.

Let me make one thing clear, the Pittsburgh Penguins are still MY team. James Neal and all. But, if the get rid of Flower, I will cry and disown until the season starts next year.

When I'm filled with hope and happiness once again.

For now, Go Habs! (Because I might be able to get to Montréal for a Stanley Cup Parade)

Canada deserves a cup!

And Go James Reimer and the rest of Team Canada at Worlds!

-Hamna

Because it's Hamna in a flower crown and a Malkin shirt...

Silver Linings

Contrasts and ironies never cease to amaze me.

It is incredible to me how the wealthiest parts of a city are only steps away from the roughest parts. The way people write "Save Trees!" on sheets of paper that were made by cutting down trees. When college dropouts are the guest speakers at college graduations...

I can't even...

It also amazes me how one person's happiness means another's sadness.

As I watched the LA Kings (You had to know this was going towards hockey) win their series and shake hands with the San Jose Sharks, I realized that the center ice line separated two very different emotions. The LA Kings win meant that the San Jose Sharks would lose yet another playoff series. Their elation was heartbreak to the San Jose Sharks.

And it got me thinking...everything on this planet is bittersweet.

One person's acceptance into their safety schools is another person's rejection from their dream school. The success of one business often means the failure of another. Every year added onto your life is another one closer to death.

There is a negative side to everything.

But there is also a silver lining.

And I suppose the silver lining is what we live for. 

High School sucks 80% of the time. The other 20% rocks.

Hard work is hard, but we do anyway because we are working towards something. We may not know what it is, but we know there is something. And the second there is nothing, you know you are in trouble.

We live for recognition. We live to have something to look forward to because according to Anne Shirley, that's half the fun.  We live to work.

The silver lining is a human being's purpose on this planet. Because without that purpose, we are lost boats at sea.

Everyone grows up wanting their purpose to be changing the world. But how? What can we do that someone else has not done? What makes extraordinary? When do we figure it out?

It's why we connect to books and literature. We love The Fault in Our Stars because they may be a hot mess, but Augustus and Hazel have it figured out. They have the infinity they crave. The deeper level of understanding they have for life. And themselves.

Do you ever wonder if the people around are deeper than they appear? Do you ever really know your peers? What drives them to do what they do and want what they want? What makes them cry? Or laugh? What gives them goosebumps? Who are they? And what do they think of who you are?

We want to be the ones with the quotes that people recite for generations. The ones that everyone will remember. But we must hurt people to do so...And that's the hard part.

What makes a human extraordinary? What makes our thoughts and voices worthy of being immortal?

That's a lot of questions on my part.

-Hamna