User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4133924-20110710171225

Harry Potter is my childhood. The first book came out when I was five years old. One of my earliest memories is my brothers and my mother and father reading the book to me. I was hooked. My copies of all the books are falling apart because of how much I've read them. As I get older, there are portions of my life that are blurry, but the one thing that only sticks out is new Harry Potter things. Whether it was the books or the movies, I can clearly remember each and every time something new came out. I was terribly socially awkward in elementary school and I spent an inordinate amount of time reading Harry Potter and dreaming of fitting in at Hogwarts. As I've grown up, Harry Potter has been there. When I'm feeling sad, the first thing that I do is go to my bookshelf and pick up one of the books. It was the first chapter book I read on my own, it was the first movie that I made my dad take me to 11 times. My mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer my sophomore year of high school and she had a recurrence my junior year. I've never been more scared or felt as hopeless as I did these past two years, and things are looking up now, but I had a hard time getting through all of that. I reverted back to my elementary introversion, and I looked to the struggles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione for guidance. Harry Potter has saved my life. I've grown up with Harry Potter, and the premier of the 7th movie part 2, coincides with what I'm seeing as the end of childhood. I graduate high school this year, moving onto college and bigger things, and as terrified as I am to be a part of the real world, I know that the strife and obstacles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione will always be there to guide me in even the darkest of times. I used to never want to grow up, I used to be terrified of the future, but Harry Potter has made me see the future, even the bad times, as an adventure. And because of Harry Potter, I can face that adventure knowing that everything is going to turn out alright. I know that "happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light."

Harry Potter > Life

Harry Potter = Childhood