I was 11. Or close there to it.
I can remember the first time I heard Harry Potter. My mom had bought the first two for my older sister. She wasn't too invested in them. My mother had the brilliant, and I mean absolute brilliant idea, to read to us in the car on trips. When we'd head out of town with someone else, my mom would sit in the passenger seat and she'd read us Harry Potter.
Since then, I have all 7 copies in hard cover, with my 7th one falling apart because I read it so much. I find myself grabbing a Harry Potter novel when I'm confused and just need to remember which way my heart is going. I read Harry Potter when I'm bored and have nothing else to read. I read Harry Potter when I just want to remember how easy it is to get lost in the pages of a novel, even if I've read it a hundred times.
Last night, I saw a chapter of my childhood close. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last and final movie, came out. It's all over. There are no more books, and no more movies. And I'm excited to see how awesome the movie was, as well as sad to know that it's actually over. I find it fitting that it all comes to a close after I recently graduated college. How appropriate that my childhood series comes to an end just as my actual childhood feels as though it is ending.
The movie series is brilliant. Being a fan of the books, I always find something to obsess about what they did wrong or what could have been better. But in looking at the movies as a whole, they are quite good. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter matured from an 11 year old with the talent to a 22 year old with skill. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley became a favorite of mine and I loved seeing how he changed. Emma Watson as Hermione brought my favorite character to life and showed that girls can do things just as well as boys can. These three brought the books to life, as though these roles were written for them. However, the movies have NOTHING on the books.
I love to read. I read all the time, anything and everything.
However, I've never found a series that has gotten me through thick and thin quite like Harry Potter. I've taken at least one of the seven novels on vacation with me since I began collecting them.
Harry Potter tells a story of magic. A young boy who had never found his place suddenly, at 11, finds out he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Throughout the novel he his helped by an odd assortment of people to defeat Voldemort (excuse me, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named). His best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are with him every step of the way.
Throughout the novels, readers are introduced to a battle much larger than just Harry's. Younger generations are taught morals and the valuable lesson such as good and evil, right and wrong. Harry grows up considerably and learns how to rely on others as well as see how truly wonderful it is to have a good heart and to love.
I grew up with Harry. In a world where things get confusing and lost in translation, I always found myself getting lost in the world Harry Potter called home. I learned to follow my heart and trust my head by reading these books. I learned that every teenager goes through the same things despite the fact that all of us feel like we're alone. I learned that just because one chapter closes, it doesn't mean it's over forever.
"No story lives unless someone is willing to listen."-J.K. Rowling. The wonderfully witty author of this incredible series said it best. Harry Potter is a story worth reading. It will impact you. It will allow you to get lost in someone else's fantasy for a bit, and it might even teach you a few things.
Thank you J.K. Rowling for a wonderful series, and letting the world become friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I hope my own children will appreciate their friendship as much as I have-for Harry's story will live on for years to come.
