User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4141758-20110713035718

When I think of Harry Potter I think of so many wonderful things, things that are often hard-pressed to sound eloquent in written words, things that are pure love and happiness. The sort of emotions that leave one speechless.

Harry Potter means the best part of my childhood; a time spent voraciously rereading available books and jumping at the next release like the eager child I was losing to age, though in my heart I remained the same child that read with awe the expanse of Hogwarts and its grounds and of Harry’s adventures with Ron and Hermione.

Harry Potter means the catalyst for my ambition to be a writer, something that I will always remember. It was the thing that fully entranced my love for literature; before it was there was a world with imagination but none of the complexity and magnificence of the Wizarding world. With Harry Potter I discovered themes and foreshadowing and characterization of the most wonderful sort.

Harry Potter means humanity for that is what Harry’s seven year, seven book story meant to me. The Harry Potter books introduced me to some of the philosophies that I still hold close to heart: that you can make mistakes but still be good, that sacrifice and bravery are key to showing love and strength, that humor is just as important as seriousness, and that being odd is one of the most admirable traits in the world.

Harry Potter, in short, means me. It has unconsciously shaped who I am and who I aspire to be. Without Harry (and J.K. Rowling) I’d be a completely different person. Of this I can be sure.