User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4134923-20110711021132

To be as plain as possible, Harry Potter means everything to me. It means family and friends, it is the embodiment (as I'm sure it is with thousands) of my childhood. It has been the start of friendships and the topic of many long winded discussions. It means my very personality. (I've been told I'm alarmingly like Ron Weasley. And Merlin's Pants!, there isn't an inch of my bedroom not plastered with Harry Potter memorabilia.) Unlike other fans, however, I don't use Harry as a temporary memory charm, used to forget my real world problems, but rather as a Patronus, a happy force that I can use in order to make it through rough times. That is what Harry means to me, but the statements hold much more weight with situations to back them up. So i implore you, please, to read on, and discover exactly what a wonderful effect Harry Potter has had on my life. Harry entered my life at a time when I was utterly lost. My mother's partner, who had become my surrogate father figure had passed away and at nine years old it sucked the happiness out of my life as easily as a dementor's kiss. In an attempt to cheer me up my mother took me to see a recently released film called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and as odd as it may seem, I believe it changed the course of my life forever. We went to buy the book immediately after seeing the film and it was the first actual novel I'd ever read (chapter books such as Goosebumps and Magic Tree House not withstanding as full fledged books) and I fell instantly in love. It started my love of reading as well as writing, and I fully contribute my choice to follow advanced English courses throughout school to J.K. Rowling's delightful novels. Going to midnight releases of both the books and movies became a tradition between my mother and me. Attending in full Hogwarts robes with wands at the ready of course. In our small town in Ohio there aren't as many fans who are as 'hardcore' as we are, so we typically stand out. Her in her Hufflepuff black and yellow and I in my Gryffindor Scarlet and gold. It was always like a break of sorts, a small vacation as we've never had the money for a proper one. Then, a few years ago we received devastating news. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I found myself the caretaker of a disabled mother and younger sister. As odd as it sounds Harry Potter gave me the strength to keep my family together. I realized that I had to act as Harry would. By reading of his deeds again and again I gained his courage, and with it I conquered the struggle of supporting a family at 17 just as my mother conquered a deadly disease. I was able to save my sanity and my family because at heart I am a Gryffindor. I will readily admit to anyone that the upcoming premiere of Deathly Hallows has me depressed as well as excited. It feels as though the end of the movie series will close the final door of my childhood, and I'll be cast out into the real world. I do not fear such a transition, however, as Harry Potter has given me a sense of adventure I would otherwise never have developed, and I know that I can always fall back on the books if I ever feel the magic begin to ebb from my world. Seeing the world I love come to life at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, was the better than anything I'd ever imagined. My mother of course wished for us to go, but as we'd recently lost the house such things were impossible. I want her to have that experience. I want her to be able to say she took us there, to a world we both love so dearly. To see and feel and taste and touch the magic is the greatest gift I could think to give her. I believe with all my heart that such an experience could only give Harry Potter even greater meaning to me and my family, giving us even more happiness and strength with which to fight on.