Harry Potter Experience

I remember watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the first time with my mom. She kept rewinding the part when Hagrid knocks down the door and says, "Sorry about that." Everything from that point forward was just amazing to a 9-year-old me. I remember falling in love with all the magic. Platform 93/4, the beautiful train, the chocolate frog, the sorting hat, the great feast, Fluffy...I could go on for ages.

Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire is my favorite movie because that is when I fell in love with Ron Weasley/Rupert Grint but Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is and always will be my go to happy movie. It's the moment I fell in love with golden trio as they're now called. It's the moment that I understood how special and beautiful and freaking awesome it is to stand up against something bigger than yourself. I understand that more now because I'm older but it was always clear that there was something incredibly special about these movies and about Harry, Ron, and Hermione and Hogwarts.

After seeing Chamber of Secrets, I started reading the books. I started with Prisoner of Azkaban then read the first two and then I read the rest of them in order from Goblet of Fire. I already loved reading but I was never in love with a series like this before. I loved finishing one book and wondering what would happen next. It kept my love of reading alive. I still really love reading. Whenever I get the chance, I read my favorite chapter of the whole series, The Prince's Tale in Deathly Hallows. It never gets old. It never stops being beautiful. It reminds me that people are more than what you see. That is something we forget far too often.

I've learned a lot from the series. I've learned a lot from the books, movies, and characters.

• It's okay to stand up for what you believe in
• It's okay to fight against something bigger than yourself.
• People are different but that's not a reason to hate them.
• Love conquers all
• Love is there even when you don't realize it.
• Magic is love and love is real
• We can stand up to what we're afraid of whether it be spiders or hate
• Never judge a book by it's cover because people are more than what we see.
• When you believe in yourself, you can do a lot of great things.
  
• It's okay to be yourself
• It's not good to have too much power and then use it for bad. You never win that way.
• I am a Free Elf. We are all Free Elves.
  

I think the most important thing to me is that it's okay to stand up and fight against something bigger than yourself. If I think back now, that's what pulled me in. These were little kids, only 11, who knew the importance of right from wrong and did everything in their power to make things right and win the good fight. We're stronger than we think and if we have this courage and bravery, who knows what great things we can accomplish for the good fight.

Harry Potter has been really special to me for more than half of my life now. I wouldn't change it at all. It's a part of who I am. I'm a proud Potterhead. Years 1 to 7 are done on paper and on the big screen but it's not over. It will always be a special part of me. I am sad that there are no more movies or books but it will live on. Like J.K. Rowling said, "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." I will never forget the love and the magic. When something is this wonderful, it's legacy lives on forever. Happy Birthday J.K. Rowling. Thank you for everything. "All was well. "