The Idea of Infinity

One of my all-time favorite quotes come from Harry Potter and has to do with the idea of infinity. 

“Dumbledore watched [Lily] fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. ‘After all this time?’

‘Always,’ said Snape.”

 –Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This summer, I turned 22 and aside from a DSLR camera, there wasn't anything else that I really wanted. Nothing that I couldn't do without. However, there was a lingering want in me—that of a tattoo. I’ve wanted to get one for quite a few years now and there are only two that I really want.

The tattoo that I wanted to get on my birthday is the infinity symbol on my left wrist with the word ‘always’ embedded in it. 

I’ve come to really appreciate and love the concept of infinity. The idea that something can exist forever in this world of ours, where so many things are coming to an end, is simply enchanting. Marriages end, friendships end, and even life, inevitably, ends. But then I realize that there can be certain things, which will stand still through time.

When I told my mom about what I wanted for a tattoo, she didn’t understand the significance. It also didn’t impress her to learn that the tattoo was inspired by the above quote in Harry Potter. But it makes sense to me. When it comes to abstract ideas such as love, I’m a cynic. But even I can’t deny the rarity of Snape’s love.

Brought up in a culture where the primary interaction between guys and girls is filled solely with the thought of hooking up, it’s rare to find the kind of love that is found in books. It’s even more rare that someone’s love for a person can exceed the finite into the infinite.

And it is this part of Snape that completely enthralls me.

It is this part of infinity that leads me to hope that perhaps someday, I can come across something that will last infnitely.