I met Harry Potter at my grandparents' house when I was about 13 years old. My cousin had brought the first movie out for us to watch before we went to bed that night. We laid there on the floor in front of the tv and laughed our butt off when Hagrid burst through the door. "Sorry 'bout tha'" will always make me laugh.
Fast forward some years and 4 movies later, to the day Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. At this point, I had read only one of the books. In middle school, I was always intimidated by their length. And I wasn't really much of a reader. But on that day, July 21, 2007, I bought and started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Why had I not read these sooner?! I had been an avid movie watcher up to this point, but the books are so much better. While I will never be one of those people who can read an entire book series in a week, I fell further in love with Harry. And Ron. We can't forget him.
I finally finished reading the series one early Sunday morning. We're talking around 3am. There were many tears. And one run across the hall of my dorm to Erin's to confirm a death. And the rest is history.
I feel like I have a lot to thank JK and Harry for. Thanks for providing me with an escape to this awesome land Jo has created. Thanks for spurring on my love for reading. Thanks for teaching me about love and friendship. But mostly, thank you, Jo, for showing that anything can happen if you follow your dreams.
Now that the last movie has come out, a lot of people are going on about the end of Harry Potter. I don't see it as an end. Sure, they have finished making movies and JK Rowling is probably done making books, but Harry will always live on. I will always go back and read and watch. I will pass them on to my children to read. Like Jo said:
"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."
So Harry, this isn't goodbye. More like a.....see you later.
1 comment:
Yay Harry Potter! And our awesome time at the midnight!
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