User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4143777-20110713184816

"What does Harry Potter mean to you? When I was young, like some of these comments, I was forbidden to read or watch Harry Potter when I was younger because at my school (unlike some of these comments, you actually had the series at your school's library?! I'm impressed/jealous), it was banned. I went to a Christian school, so all of the good things about being a 90's kid seemed to be banned. Pokemon, Harry Potter, Power Rangers, Care Bears... The only one I really cared about was Harry Potter. Why wasn't I allowed to read this series? I'm a book-worm and I hated when I was told I couldn't read something because of my age or religion (which I didn't even believe in) or something like that. So, I did what any normal 10 year old girl who hates being told what to do (Yes, I am in Slytherin) would do. I went to my friend's house and begged her to let me read The Book (Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone). She said that my parents would be angry. I said I didn't care. She muttered about how I'm obviously in Slytherin, which I had no idea what that meant, but I kept the title and now, years later, still wear it proudly. She handed me the book and I spent an hour at her house, solidly reading. After that, I was hooked. I'd watch the movies on Disney Channel after my parents had gone to bed. I had SUCH a crush on Rupert Grint (still do; some things never change, eh?) and I adored the entire wizarding world. I would go to bed, imagining that I was in the Slytherin dorms. I always wanted a bigger world than the one I had around me. Flash forward to many years later. The only reason I have most of the friends I do is because Harry Potter united us. It didn't matter if you were a football player, loner, geek, "punk/goth" or whatever. If you liked Harry Potter, well, you were all right, then. I've argued with many who seem to think that Harry Potter is an inherently evil series. I'm sorry, but if you're going to ban Harry Potter, then you have to ban Lord of the Rings and Narnia, nevermind the allegories that they obviously are. You ban one, you ban the others. I've turned even my mom into a Harry Potter fan. The only reason I have my current best friend is because we both are into Harry Potter (oh well, he's a Gryffindor and I'm a Slytherin... We've dated, too, and still remain friends- proof that it IS possible for a Slytherin and Gryffindor to be best friends). I adore Harry Potter. Without Harry Potter, I would not have any of the friends I do now. I can't express what Harry Potter means to me. I can't even begin to describe it. Mr. Potter gave me hope for a better future, still does, actually. I suffer from clinical depression and sometimes, the only way out of my brain other than cutting, is Harry Potter. I am 20 years old now, and I still remember my first reaction to seeing all of these children lined up to see the first movie in wizarding robes. I wanted to be a part of them so badly, but I was meant to see a different movie that night. You have no idea how disappointed I was. I wanted to go where they were going. I wanted to catch the train to Hogwarts.