User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4140625-20110712203946

What a question, what does Harry Potter mean to me? There are so many answers and none of them seem to completely envelope the reality of what Harry potter has gotten me through or what it personifies. I started reading Harry Potter when I was 7 and continue to read it every summer (and now I’m 21), so clearly it was my childhood and still is a very large part of my being. It has taught me to never be afraid to be the person that you are, have confidence and do what you can do. It has bought me through some of the toughest times of my life be they when my mother was sick, when I an outcast because I am a lot like Luna (I’m not like everyone else or mainstream). It so hard to put this into word but Harry Potter has been there for me, has taught me to imagine, to have confidence, and to never underestimate love and the power of friendship. The books have guided me though and helped me to make decisions that would seem hard all too easy. Some may say, “Really, it’s just a children’s book,” but the thing is, the book is not only a child’s book. J.K. Rowling created a world, a how to guide, a tale where you can grasps complex concepts in the most imaginable ways. When in times of hardship, loss, love, really anything you can look back and think of Snape’s true love for Lily, Molly’s loss of a child, Harry’s loss of friend and a father figure, and how through it all everyone stuck together and you think we need to continue on and love each other. Lessons have been learned, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities” and "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." Just to name a few. I know that it sounds so cliché but Harry Potter is my childhood, my present, and my future. It means the world to me and it is always there for me when needed. Thank you so much J.K. Rowling for this amazing friend and resource that you have given me.