The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling is, in my opinion, one of the best book series ever written. Every book is chock full of life changing advice that can be easily found if the reader takes the time to search for it. Over the years, as I have grown and gotten older, I have re-read the series several time. Each time I re-read it, I learn something new, something I had somehow missed while reading it the time before. Now that I can really call myself an adult, I've found myself looking back on the advice the books gave me and realizing just how valuable it is. Here's what I've learned so far:
1: Never be ashamed of who you are.
Harry Potter spent his entire life growing up in a household where he was shamed for being who he was: a Potter, Petunia's infamous sister's only son and, eventually, a wizard. He grew up never knowing just why the Dursley's despised him so much, and when he learned, he never let that stop him from being exactly who he was always meant to be. Harry embraced his jet black hair, green eyes and lightning scar and he was all the better for it. I took this advice to heart when, at the age of thirteen, I realized that I would never be the tall skinny girl that most people found attractive. My first copy of The Sorcerer's Stone has several tear-stained pages that show when I finally took Harry's advice and began to love myself for who I am, not who others want me to be.
2. Never be afraid to talk about yourself.
Over the course of the second Harry Potter book, The Chamber of Secrets, we see one of the Weasley children, Ginny, struggling with problems that she is facing. There are several occasions throughout the book where Ginny comes close to telling one of her brothers about what's troubling her, but she always stops herself at the last minute. Ginny refusing to talk to her family and friends about her problems almost kills her. Literally. She's inches away from death all because she didn't know how to talk to her family about Tom Riddle's diary. Don't make Ginny's mistakes. Your family and friend's sole purpose in life is to love and support you unconditionally and they can't help if you refuse to let them. I learned this lesson when I was 14 years old and stubbornly refused to tell my parents about my depression until it was almost too late. I made the same mistakes Ginny did, but now I can look back on those mistakes and learn from them so that they will never happen again.
3. Don't judge a book by its cover.
The Prisoner of Azkaban taught me to not judge others too harshly. The very first time that I ever read the Harry Potter books was during my second-grade year. I was very quick to believe that Sirius Black was nothing more than another nasty criminal out to murder Harry, just as he'd murdered Peter Pettigrew. I remember feeling completely and utterly shocked when Sirius was proven innocent and a tiny bit guilty for judging his character before he'd even been properly introduced. It wasn't until just recently that I realized we have all Sirius Black'd someone. We've all heard rumors about people and have been quick to base our opinion of someone on what other people have said about them. I would be lying if I said that I don't have a huge problem with unfairly judging people. However, when I find myself judging someone, I look back on the memory of when I first read PoA and remember just how guilty I felt about judging Sirius so harshly. I have to force myself to remember that those we judge the most may just end up being our best friends in the future.
4. Always root for the underdogs.
The lesson I learned from The Goblet of Fire is so swept under the rug that it got absolutely no air time when the movie came out in 2005. The part of GoF that stood out the most to me was Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W, or the Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare. Hermione, who is a minority herself due to her blood status, gave no thought to her own reputation, but used every method she could think of to try and bring equal rights to the house elves at Hogwarts. To me, Hermione's fight for the house elves is the most important part of GoF. Sure, Harry winning all of the trials of the tournament was pretty cool, but Hermione's role moved mountains. She taught me to never let someone get picked on or walked all over because of their minority status. She taught me to stand up to bullies and to fight for what I know is right. Her fight for equal rights lit a flame inside my heart. It showed me just how passionate I am about helping those that are less fortunate than I am. Hermione gave me one of the pieces of advice that will stick with me until the day I die. I hope it has that same effect on anyone else that reads the Harry Potter series so they will have that same fire inside their hearts that I have in mine.
(to be continued...)
