User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-68.162.184.38-20110714160449

What does Harry Potter mean to me? First of all, I would like to point out that that particular question consists of seven words, the most powerful number in the wizarding world. But I digress. As many will say, Harry Potter represents my childhood; it sounds cliché, but it’s true. The Harry Potter books have helped to shape me to the person that I am today. The books came out in 1998 (in the United States), when I was just six years old and my mother began reading the series to my younger brother and I (as well as the occasional friend who would sleep over); we never missed skipped a night and read one chapter with each sitting. I can still picture vividly the setting: my mother, brother, as well as myself and perhaps a friend or two all crowded around my mother on my “pretty, pink” bed, listening attentively, always anticipating what would happen next and hardly able to contain the urge to beg my mom to read just one more chapter. Being only six years old, Harry Potter was the first book with chapters that I had ever had read to me. So, naturally it became also the first chapter book that I read by myself, just one year later at the age of seven. I later progressed to continue reading the books by myself after my mother stopped reading to us part-way through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I now have read the books at least five times each, the third alone I have read over twenty times. Because of the Harry Potter books, I found my one true escape from reality and my love of reading. Apart from athletics, reading has become my favorite way to spend time alone. In addition to sparking my interest in reading, Harry Potter has also helped me to find another love in writing. As I got older, I looked to Rowling’s style for inspiration and have received honors in high school as well as an A in my college composition class at the University of Pittsburgh (which is no easy task; the university requires “superior attainment”). One particular exercise required us to imitate a style of an author that we admire and I chose a passage from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; my imitation was chosen as one of the best in the class. In a way, Harry Potter has become an escape, as well as a sort of hobby. In addition to the books, the movies and all the merchandise and now the park all provide ample opportunities to really make the magical world of witches and wizards come to life (especially for those lacking an active imagination). This worldwide phenomenon has brought people of all races, ethnicities, ages, and genders together like nothing else I’ve ever seen. I can remember a time when you could go to the movie theater at 11:45 on Thursday night and purchase a ticket for the midnight showing (on just one screen), walk right in, and hardly anyone was in costume. Now, you have to order your tickets months in advance to even have a shot of making it into one of several screens and if you don’t dress up then you look out of place. So, what does Harry Potter mean to me? First, I would say that it is impossible to answer that question efficiently because Harry Potter means so many things to me, most of them being hard to put into words. Harry Potter reminds me of my childhood and even my teenage and young adult years. Harry Potter has made me the person I am today. My own personal “wizarding world” has even reached out to include my friends, who have been sucked in by my enthusiasm. In summation, I would say that Harry Potter, to me, means an escape from reality to a magical, exciting, and wonderful world that all Muggles – whether they are willing to admit it or not – wish was real.