A piece of our childhood

It is our choices... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

J. K. Rowling 

If you grew up the 90's or even the early 2000's you are probably very much familiar with the Harry Potter series. The magical story that taught us lessons about loyalty, friendship, bravery, and love.

I think J.K. Rowling is brilliant. She created this entire world, people, places, histories, and created a story that brought childhood dreams to life, bringing us out of our day to day lives and into a completely different world.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was released September 1st 1998. At the time I was almost 6 years old, and the perfect age to begin the journey that so many kids around my age travelled on through our youth and high school years.

My siblings and I started hearing the books at bedtime, in that fabulous half hour of the evening when my Dad would read a chapter, voices and all. The second book was released in June of 1999, and as we were still a little young to read, would continue to hear the progression of the books as the year went on through the eyes of my Father. As I grew older and more books were released in a yearly succession from 2000-2007, I would find great accomplishment in finishing a 600+ paged book all by myself, staying up reading until my eyes wouldn't allow it.

The last three books were released in the summers, 2003, 2005, and the final book in 2007, uniting kids all over the world in a story, the hearts of characters, and the passion of the writing making the Harry Potter series one of the most successful in the world.

I have fond memories of us kids lined up on grand avenue at the neighborhood Barnes and Noble. Waiting hand in hand with our parents, anxious to start reading the next installment of Harry's adventures.

 Once in our hands, we read all day, soaking in the new adventures, and development of our beloved characters. At the Tennis club which is where a large part of my summer was spent, kids were reading all over, in the lawn chairs, on the patio, in the shack, until forced to stop to their dismay for a very specific reason. The books ignited a universal love of reading.

Us kids read on car rides, and under the blanket with a flashlight until 3 in the morning, trying to cram in the story and find out the ending before starting the book all over again, and anxiously waiting for our friends to finish so they could gab and discuss the exciting new stories.

November 14th 2001 marked the release of the first movie, bringing the beloved story to life and adding another element of excitement to the many young readers. I went to every movie, shortly after it's release, and continued throughout my high school years.

The final movie was released my senior year so, along with a large part of my high school,  I attended the midnight premiere. It was packed with kids and high schoolers wanting to stay up half the night to experience the last installment of the series.

 The books had all been released, so this, the movie, marked the end of an era.  It was the end of the story we had followed throughout our childhood, bringing with it the conclusion of the characters that we had developed such an attachment to.

So thank you J.K. Rowling, for giving us your stories, for sharing with us your world, and finally, thank you for the magic.

Happy Living,
~M