User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4142660-20110713125925

Harry Potter, is more than just a fan book series. It is what helped me become who I am, shaping my values, giving me the courage to stand up for myself, it helped me escape to a world unlike any other when my world got to be too much. The world of Harry Potter means more to me than words can describe, it was my childhood dream to get my Hogwarts letter in the mail one day and be whisked off to this magical place and never have to worry about the bullies again. In fact, when I was 10 I made my own copy of the letter for me and my best friend, making it look like parchment took a couple days, it didn't work out very well! When I think of Harry Potter, I get this feeling inside that fills me with happiness, hope, and love. The series taught me so much about life, and how friendship is so much a very important part of life, how love can conquer anything. It has taught me that "it matter not what someone is born, but what they grow to be" (Dumbledore, Goblet of Fire, Chapter 36 Parting of the Ways), the words I now have tattooed on my shoulder next to a phoenix in flight, reminding me every single day to remember that I can become anything I want to be regardless of being born gay in rural Southern Ohio. J.K. Rowling has changed my life with this series, and has given me something to hold onto for years and years to come, and something to share with my children in the future. Being selected for one of these trips would be the trip of a lifetime, and mean more to me than I can describe! Thank you for ready my story! -Alex