User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4155574-20110716133842

What does Harry Potter mean to you?

Boy, that's a tough one.

I remember hearing about the speculation of building a Hogwarts nearly 4-5 years ago. I remember looking at my older sister, and we both flipped out, we were so happy. Our parents couldn't understand why, of course--I don't think they ever truly will. But the funny thing is, at the beginning of all this, when the first book came out (I must have been in 2nd grade)....I wasn't a fan! I would sit next to my mom on the couch, and she would try every day to read me the 1st book, but I could never stay awake after the 1st chapter! But about 3 years later, I rediscovered the books that were currently out. I'd had this tradition where I'd plan out a week or 2 of my summer, strictly based on me doing literally nothing all those days, but rereading the series. And not just that, but I'd calculate exactly how much I'd read each day, finishing the books right before the day of the newest release. And if the next installment in the movie series was coming out, I'd reread that specific book, so that I could catch little snip-its from the book I liked, or complain about the best parts (in my opinion) that the writers had left out. I never realized how much the series meant to me; as the movies, as the books. I was brought up with a love a literature, and I'm strangely drawn to almost all movies. There are just so many aspects of the book that are purely imaginative. And I know they're not real. Even as a practical kid, I knew that then. And yet...it was always nice to believe. For an hour or 2 watching the movie, for a few days reading the books. I couldn't be more thankful to the cast, to the writers, to everyone that worked on making the movies worthwhile. And to J.K. Rowling: you're bloody brilliant! I don't think you'll ever truly ever know the impact you've made on such a lost generation. For those of us that actually read the books as well, we all thank you. Never before has any series moved me to tears. With the loss of Harry's parents, Cedric, the old members of the Order, Fred, Tonks and Lupin...Snape. It was like a group of my friends dying. And it hurt. It still does, and I think there will always be an ache for them--even if they are nothing but fictional characters to some people. I don't think I've ever been more moved than discovering in the Deathly Hallows who the true Snape was. That absolutely, positively, completely changed my perspective of him. And people I know in my life, just to think twice about someone you'd think is cruel; to think about what made them so. A major ascpect that comes with the series is the connection. If you think you connect with someone from reading one book....try seven! I think the reason I connected with Snape so much is the prospect of unrequited love. That can terrify you more than anything else in this world sometimes. Seeing Snape’s true side, his human side, his love for Lily that went far beyond death. "You've got your mother's eyes." I can't even...wow. A moment where the tides turned. Watching Harry realize that Snape really was a good person, and a major part in his life, even though he had never realized it. Seeing the self-sacrifice, the selflessness, the bravery, and the friendship, I was very overwhelmed. And my biggest break-down, both during the book and the movie? "After all this time?" "Always." I had to put down the book and bawl my eyes out over half an hour. My mother was a little more than alarmed when she found me sobbing, clutching the book to my chest. She didn't understand why I was so upset. But you captured feelings I've tried to surpress with a single word. Heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time. So now that my rant about Snape and Lily is done... Just. Thank you. Hogwarts, and everyone in it, and everything it stands for, is real. To me.