Ragnarok

One of the things that I find interesting in Norse Mythology is how some myths relate to real life. Of course, not in a literal sense, because if it was literal, then you would hang out with Odin in the Valhalla for real , or party with Frigga in her realm; Thor would actually ride a chariot on the clouds pulled by goats and using Mjolnir ( the hammer) to make lighting, and giants would exist. Some elements about Norse mythology have some (metaphorical) parallelism with real life (like what Indiana Jones says about El Dorado in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, in which he realizes that El Dorado mythical city was not made out of gold, but was a center of learning which for the Incas and Amazonian tribes was the most valuable wealth.). One example of the Norse parallelism is the Ragnarok, which is the Norse apocalypse in which the gods are engaged in a final battle.

In mythology, the Valkyries (the warrior goddesses) go down to earth in the battles, and select those who are going to die in battle, half of those killed in battle are taken by the Valkyries to party with Odin in the Valhalla and prepare for the Ragnarok, and the other half are going to Frigga to rest. Then, the last humans that are left in the world, Lif and Lifthrasir,  go to have shelter in the a tree from all the events in the Ragnarok which is followed by the arrival of three winter with no summers between (in other words, a three-year winter). During this long winter, Fenris the wolf escapes his bonds, Loki (god of mischief) escapes his prison, The ice and fire giants rally against the gods, the dishonoured dead spirits from the Underworld turn against Asgard led by Hel, and the World Serpent rises up, then all of go to assault Asgard and when Heimdallr (god guardian of Asgard) sees them coming, he will blow his horn to warn the gods for a last battle.During the battle, Odin is swallowed alive by Fenris (the wolf) who is killed by one of Odin’s sons, Thor kills the world serpent, but shortly dies because of the poisonous bite that the serpent gave to Thor. Heimdall, dies while slaying Loki, and Tyr (god of bravery) dies slaying, Garm, the Hellhound. Then starts raining ice and fire, the earth sinks into the sea and the nine realms in the Yggdrasil crumble, and giant wolves eat the sun and the moon, leaving the earth into darkness. Then the world rises from the sea, Lif and Lifthrasir (they are boy and girl) get out from the three and repopulate the earth, the surviving gods meet in a field (Where once was Asgard) and tell memories, and everybody enjoys the new world that emerges from the sea after the Ragnarok.

Thor against the A̶P̶ ̶e̶x̶a̶m̶s̶ world serpent.

The mythological event of Ragnarok, looks (metaphorically) almost the same like the last nine weeks of senior year, which also happen to be the last grading period of all High School for the class of 2015. Because you see, this is the time of the year when senioritis hits, therefore those who feel confident about their success are going to feel comfy and start to slack off now that they think that they have nothing to lose, then before spring break, three cold fronts came to the valley and there were only around twelve hours (at most) of sun between each cold front, then teachers prepare their most difficult and nasty exams designed especially from keeping students from graduating, for example, my math teacher designed an unresolvable problem that he nicknamed “The beast” (Fenrir), my CNA teacher gave us a long list that we need to get checked off at the clinical’s site before the first week of April if we want to get CNA certification (the ice and fire giants), my biology teacher is giving us quizzes every class (the dishonoured dead spirits led by hel), In art class we are going to have this ugly, nasty final in which we need to draw a self portrait of our self in detail (Loki escapes his prison), and AP exams (the world serpent). Then when we came back from Spring break, whoever is the one whose job is to ring the bell, that one will ring the bell to mark the beginning of the last nine weeks, and with them, the beginning of the end and the warning of our last battle (Heimdall blows his horn). During this period, students will suffer great amounts of stress, and some are going to fail important and decisive exams. According to a teacher in Med High, statistically the average number of seniors who don’t graduate is five, (which is more or less the number of gods that died during the Ragnarok). Then if you don’t graduate, your parents, teacher, and friends are going to make a big deal about it and they are going to remember you like the dumb student that didn't graduated on time, and everything will turn dark against you (ice and fire rain, earth submerges into the sea, Yggdrasil crumbles, and wolves eat the sun and the moon).
But those who prepared well and made it to the graduation will live to see the new beginning, which is college life, life away our parents (for those leaving the valley), and freedom to live for ourselves, starting a new life in which we, the students, will start independent lives and be responsibles for ourselves (world rises from the sea, and Lif and Lifthrasir will come out from the tree). And finally those who made it will attend Class reunions to tell memories from High School (meeting of the surviving gods where once was Asgard). The real life Ragnarok will not be a literal battle, but rather a new beginning that will be good for us and will be a turning point in our lives.

Asgard’s L̶G̶B̶T̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶a̶d̶e̶ bridge, Bifrost. The rainbow bridge joins together the nine realms of the Yggdrasil.

The new world that rises after the Ragnarök.