User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4146821-20110714135311

I will always remember staying up late with my mom, listening to her detail the exciting adventures of Harry Potter and opening up this world that I never believed could have existed in a book. The story of Mr. Potter and his friends battling evil and going to school at the same time had a major effect on my life when I was ten. I learned what it was like to be loyal, to be strong in the things you believe in, but I also learned a more important lesson: evil, no matter how terrifying or threatening, is no match for love. The encouragement nestled in the pages of these books did wonders for me as a child. I was yoked with low self-esteem and had no self-worth, but using my imagination to put myself in Harry's world to experience the things he did right along with him, I learned a lot about myself and learned to live each day as if it was my last. To this day, at 19 years old, I still spend hours locked away with one of the books, breathlessly anticipating Harry's next challenge, soaring with him over the Quidditch pitch, and battling the Dementors with my own Patronus. Every birthday was Harry Potter everything, from potion sets to the actual wand replica hanging on my wall to this day. I cannot thank JK Rowling enough for the fantastic effect her dream has had on my life and there are no words to describe my love for the world she created all those years ago. Tonight at the film premiere, I will bawl. This is the end, but in a way it is also the beginning. I look forward to sharing this wonderful story with my kids in the future, so, Mr. Potter, dearest friend and my ally, I raise my glass to you, The Boy Who Lived.