My Experience Reading Harry Potter by J.K Rowling

When I was in kindergarten, my mother read me Harry Potter for the first time, but I didn’t remember much. So when I was in 3rd grade I tried again. This time, I was completely swept away by J.K Rowling’s amazing work of art. As soon as I dug into chapter one, I knew my life would never be the same. Over the course of about 6 years (my younger self was not the most avid reader, and didn’t fully commit until 5th grade) I managed to finish all 7 books and 8 movies. (This was my first experience with the movie being nothing like the book, and I remember being perplexed as to why the screenplay writers could not simply include every line from the 820 page 5th book into a 2-hour movie). And after that, my obsession began in full. I was that one girl in my class whose bedroom had posters and quotes from Harry Potter covering her walls. I was also the one who brought Harry Potter mania to my school. Soon my friends, like me, wore their house colors to school daily. I popularized online Hogwarts House quizzes, and my best friend and I even made wooden magic wands to sell to our classmates. I even went online and joined a social activism group based around Harry Potter. All this because of a book. So I ask myself: would harry Potter have changed my life if I had only ever watched the movies? No. Reading the Harry Potter books taught me humility, empathy, and that, in the words of Albus Dumbledore, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” Thank you, Harry Potter, for changing my life for the better.