HP7

                I would like to dedicate this entry to someone who has influenced me tremendously and grown up with me throughout the years: Harry Potter. I remember well the day that I learned about the original book which would soon grow into a culture. I was sitting on our big, flowery, yellow couch when my mom came through the front door. I was in first grade, and so little that I remember my feet stuck off over the edge. That afternoon, I was first introduced to the most magical (no pun intended) cultural and literary experience of my young life. Now, nearly twelve years later, I sit in shock, in a residence in Spain, after having witnessed the culmination that was the second part of the seventh and final movie.

                Millions followed the series simply because everyone else was: because it was a cool story with wizards written in a way that everyone could enjoy. But for some of us, Harry Potter means so much more. I remember staying up until midnight on the night of my eleventh birthday, not knowing just quite what to expect. I remember not wanting to walk upstairs alone after finishing the second book with my family because I was convinced a basilisk would come slithering around the corner. I remember dressing up as Harry for Halloween long ago, and being asked over and over again, “You’re supposed to be who?”

                I cannot quite put my finger on what it was that set J.K. Rowling’s masterpiece miles above all other children’s’ literature. Maybe it had to do with the possibilities, and the idea that there could be a whole ‘nother world, just beyond our knowledge, that sometimes crept into our awareness, only to be reasoned away. Maybe it was the heroism: a baby could save an entire people? And a fourteen-year-old could escape the deadly spells of the “Most Powerful Dark Wizard of our time”? Maybe it was the suspense… when else was I allowed, as en elementary schooler, to dress up and go out at midnight to get a BOOK?! Or maybe it was simply the camaraderie. I know I speak for more than myself when I say that sometimes it was like having an extra set of classmates, a whole different group of friends, who were growing and changing just as we were.

                But however fantastical the tale may seem, I think one of the most unique characteristics of Rowling’s writing is her ability to connect her readers not only with her own world but with reality. The Harry Potter series touches on everything from the obnoxious kid in the class to bravery in all sorts of controversy to the overwhelming fear of death. In many ways, it has changed the way that we think of these things, especially to an audience that included such impressionable youth. I commend Rowling endlessly for how she has tackled such a challenge. And of course, I will be forever grateful for some of her unforgettable quotes, her ability to unite a world, and the never-ceasing reminder to be grateful for what we have: “Don’t pity the dead, pity the living. But most of all, pity those who live without love.”