I went with one of my best friends to Universal Studios to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – which was something I’ve been waiting to do my whole life. Today, the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released in theaters, and I went to the premiere (it was amazing, please go see it). In light of these events, I decided it was a good time to write about how much I love Harry Potter.
When I was six years old, I hated reading. I would sit in school and pretend to read while blankly staring at the pages of books. My mom and dad had read the Harry Potter books that were out by then, and I had loved the first movie, so my mom suggested that I try reading them. That’s when my outlook on reading and books changed.
That’s just one story about how Harry Potter has changed lives. It made me become a reader – I can’t imagine not loving books and reading the way that I do now. I can barely remember hating reading, because it is so far from who I turned out to be. The Harry Potter books helped shape me into the person I am today.
For the rest of grade school, and even to this day, I have been known as the “Harry Potter girl.” It has actually become a part of my identity. Everyone who knows me, even acquaintances, know that I love Harry Potter. I have three Harry Potter tattoos (nope, this is not a joke), and I have read the books countless times. I went to the book releases for every book that came out after I started reading them, and I went to every movie premiere.
One of the best days of my life was July 21, 2007, the day Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out and I got to find out how it all ended. I was eleven. In July 2016, I went to the book release for Cursed Child (which I hated, don’t get me started on it). Through every stage of my life so far, I have had Harry Potter – through the good times and bad, for comfort, joy and reassurance.
Harry Potter teaches us so many lessons. There are the obvious things, like love, friendship, bravery, sacrifice, good and evil. But there are other things that aren’t as obvious – the stabs at prejudice and inequality, dishonesty in the media and corrupt government. There are so many things that the books teach us, as well as too many meaningful quotes to count (thank you, Albus Dumbledore). The characters are captivating and flawed. The story has so much depth. The writing is unparalleled.
Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for creating a whole new world that has touched so many lives. If I didn’t read Harry Potter, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. Maybe I would be a little less weird, but I fully embrace my nerdiness and admit that Harry Potter is one of the things I love most in life.