User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4171133-20110719200506

The world of Harry Potter is a safe haven. For me, it was a way to escape my own cramped cupboard under the stairs when I was going through a difficult childhood. I began reading the books when I was about eight or nine and the characters became my best friends, my lovers, my mentors, my teachers, or my enemies. I was right beside Harry page after page and Harry was right beside me through every painful challenge in my life and continues to be. The Weasleys brought humor to otherwise dark times. Dumbledore brought guidance when I was lost. Harry brought courage when I was afraid. And my darling friend Hermione brought me strength when I didn't think I could take another step forward. I cried with these characters, I laughed with these characters, I yelled in fear with these characters, I stood in awe of the magic of the world with these characters... I recall getting up from my bed when I was very young, pre-teenage years, and walking into my kitchen. There, I remember thinking "What movie was I watching?" When I came back into my bedroom and I saw that inspiring book laying on my bed, I fully understood the magnitude of my imagination. The black and white pages I was reading created a full color, full feeling, fully living world in my mind. This, you must understand, was an exquisite gift for me and I use this acquired magic power every day of my life. Harry Potter inspired me, not only to conquer every day difficulties, but it also inspired me to spread my so called wings and fly. With the J.K. Rowling as the wind at my back, I took on many endevours that I would have otherwise shied away from. I began to write, read, imagine, act, dream, and, last but not least, achieve. Cultivated by the simple words in these books, I grew and grew and, I'm proud to say, am still growing. I am studying theater as a profession, I am studying to teach children in hopes to instill some of the same passion for reading (and belief in magic) in them, I am practicing my own writing, and I am thoroughly enjoying my love affair with the English language through as many books as I can get my hands on. Every single time I turn the page of one of those epic books or put in the DVD, I find myself coming home to a world of comfort, love, effort, strength, and, best of all, magic. What is Harry Potter to me? Harry Potter is life-giving.