I was 16 when I went to my first Wizard Rock concert. It was something I'd wanted to since I was about 15 and had first heard of the exciting genre of music about Harry Potter that was WROCK.
Summer 2007 consisted of me seeing my first concert ever. The first band I ever saw perform was The Whomping Willows followed by Draco and the Malfoys and, the band that started it all, Harry and the Potters.
It was a wonderful evening, an about 4 days later I went to another concert with The Remus Lupins. Afterward, I even got to go out and chill with the band. It was the most epic moment of my 16 year old life.
As time went on I went to a few more concerts - more specifically The Whomping Willows and Justin Finch Fletchley & the Sugar Quills's Whomp the House Tours. At these shows they played in people's houses. At the two shows I went to in 2008 he played at Squib Girl's house and I had the privilege of staying with them.
At first it was weird and awkward for me to sleep, eat dinner, and essentially just hang out with these people who I admired so much, especially since I wasn't much of a talker. But every time they saw me they would ask how I was doing and, if necessary, even ask what my name was.
For 17 years I had been reintroducing myself to people because I was often too quiet to make an impression which was fine.
But after what I believe to be 7 Whomp the House shows, a show I attended on Tuesday really gave me the self-esteem boost I'd been needing.
I walked in the door with my friend Jennifer, just like I had the last time I was there and I was immediately greeted by Matt (The Whomping Willow) with a wave and hello - something that had never happened before.
After paying my $7 for Haiti I showed off my less 24 hour old Hufflepuff tattoo which was then broadcast all over the internet via Livestream.
At this Whomp the House Tour, aside from the usual Justin and Matt, there was also Alex (The Remus Lupin's) and Stephanie (Tonks and the Aurors). I'd only met Alex twice and the last time I'd seen or spoken to him was over 2 years ago and I'd met Stephanie once. I didn't expect either of these people to remember me, but they did.
And wasn't just that they remembered my face, but they remembered my name and called me by it frequently.
Alex even remembered that I was the (self-proclaimed) 5th Marauder, something I'd mentioned to him once in 2008 when I last saw him.
And it wasn't just that this group of people that I admired remembered me - I feel happy and important when a teacher remembers my name on the second day of class or when a classmate can say my name without pausing to think about it. That makes me feel important.
It sounds ridiculous for people to feel important when people they barely see remember their name, but you know it's true.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our little worlds and trying to make ourselves feel important that we forget other people are longing to feel just as loved as we want to. The easiest way to make someone feel valued is to just remember their name.
It doesn't seem like much but when people don't remember your name you don't you feel like you weren't important enough for them to remember something as simple as your name?
So - remember names. Make someone feel like they matter because everyone does.
Fair Thee Well,
April
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