I still can’t believe that the end of decade of books and movies came to an end tonight. I remember being 11 years old and Harry Potter being 11 years old in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Little did I know that these books would take me on a journey. 14 years later, at 21 years old, I am astounded at how much this series has meant to me. I wasn’t your typical 11 year old. I was an athlete, and a straight A student and a nerd. Till this day, I still am a Nerd and I’m perfectly ok with it. I preferred to read a book, and practice my flute than to be another pre-teen preoccupied with growing up and boys. These books took me away to another magical place. At 11 years old, I waited for my letter from Hogwarts, where the sorting hat would place me in my proper house, Gryffindor of course…these books were more than just books, they became my childhood. I can’t imagine not mentioning these books and what they meant for me. I have Harry Potter bookmarks to go with each of my hardcover books. Each book represented a different age in my life in which, Harry, Hermoine, Ron and I grew up together. I felt as though they were my classmates and I knew every bit of their lives. People who haven’t read the books, miss out greatly. JK Rowling has the power to take you away and immerse you in a land of magic simply through her words. I can’t begin to fathom that this is the end of what I’ve known most of my life…the end of Harry Potter. My life is so much better with you in it and I’m can go to sleep knowing that everything will be ok because the midnight showings of the movies and the midnight book releases were worth it. Counting the 11 hours straight it took me to read the books. I couldn’t have imagined not experiencing Harry Potter in any other way…and for that, Thank You JK Rowling.
