Why I Love Harry Potter

I remember walking through the mall one day and my sister showing me the new book she had just bought, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", I was about 10 years-old, I had heard about it but didn't really know what it was about. Little did I know that that book would forever change me. I was a horrible at reading when I was young, I even had to take special classes and it always embarrassed me. I had grown to hate books but when my sister read that first book to my little brother and I, I fell in love.

The Harry Potter series has truly become a part of my life. I have read and listen to the books many times. I can't sleep with my own thoughts so I listen to Jim Dale read the books. In high school my best friend and I called our crush, "You Know Who" so he wouldn't know we were talking about him. For the last 12 years whenever I needed to escape I would in the books. Most importantly, I have related the characters lives to mine and they've played a big part in who I am.

Of course the books will live on forever for future generations but I have truly been blessed to grow up with them. I got to feel what it was like to wait for books 4-7 to come out. I got to go to the bookstore and wait till midnight to get them. I had the luxury of imagining what the characters looked like in my mind without actors influence. Finally, I got to watch the books grow into a world phenomenon which turned into eight movies.

At first, I hated the movies for so many reasons but now I have grown to respect them for what they are, just another way to see it all, and I love how they carry on the legacy. It was cool to watch the actors grow up in many ways, like I did and Harry did. It was great to see the world in my mind come to life even if it wasn't perfectly how I imagined it. To even my surprise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 will always be one of my favorite movies. And now part 2 is out.

Just tonight I watched it and so many emotions ran through me. Of course, while watching this last one, there were great moments and not so great moments. There were emotions missed that meant so much to me in the book. There was a lot of jumping around and it could have been paced better, but there also was a lot of great film making and a lot of tears on my part. In the end I don't want to over analyze it because it all means too much to me.

At the end of the day I'd rather just be sad. This is the last midnight showing I'll attend. This was the end of 10 years of waiting and wanting. Wizarding World of Harry Potter(which is awesome!) will always be there, and I am sure I will love Pottermore, but it's just not the same. This was the end in so many ways and I'll miss the anticipation more than anything.

So, although I am not one for cheese, all I have to say is, I love Harry Potter and thank you J.K. Rowling. Thank you for opening my imagination, for giving me a place to go when life sucked, for helping me become a storyteller, and for allowing me to realize how much I love to read.