User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4165410-20110718180607

For me, Harry Potter was a return to my childhood and the belief in magic. I did not start reading the series until the Prisoner of Azkaban came out. I heard it was an amazing series so I caved and picked up The Sorcerer's Stone. From then on, I was hooked. I was at such a low point in my life. Every aspect was falling apart and trying to survive was the mantra of the day. Harry Potter gave me a weird kind of strength. I would not be able to talk to people and could barely function, but if someone told me they liked Harry, I would suddenly become a different person. I could talk to them and through that I became better. As I became better, the books then helped me go deeper and allowed me to feel more than I had in years. Their pain was my pain (temporarily) and by going through the journey with them, I was able to go further in my journey and became a stronger, healthier person. It's also why I've always related to Neville. I started out a mess and by the end, while I never cut off any snake head, I did become a much better person.