If I was to make a list of my favorite things, Harry Potter is ranked right up there with a really good margarita and floating the river. Harry Potter is, to me, a timeless work of art that I cannot imagine not having grown up with. I enjoyed Harry Potter not only because of the characters or the story itself or because it was something my grandmother and I read together, but also because it was completely different than any other book of it’s time.

Only now as I have gotten older can I truly see and understand the very real-life themes that were portrayed throughout the series from oppression, tolerance, stereotypes, conformity, death and love. The lessons in Harry Potter will stay with me for the rest of my life much like the lightning bolt tattoo I have (sorry, Mom).

The wisdom bombs that Harry Potter dropped continue to be my favorite, and so I wish pass them along in hopes that they will inspire you in some way like they did me.

1. We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on. — Albus Dumbledore

2. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. — Albus Dumbledore

3. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. — Albus Dumbedore

4. It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. — Albus Dumbledore

5. Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. — Albus Dumbledore

6. If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors not his equals. — Sirius Black

7. We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on, that’s who we really are. — Sirius Black

8. Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love. — Albus Dumbledore

9. Soon, we must all face the choice between what is right, and what is easy. — Albus Dumbledore

10. The ones that love us never really leave us. — Sirius Black

11. Working hard is important. But there is something that matters even more: believing in yourself. — Harry Potter

12. Things we lose always have a way of coming back to us in the end. If not always in the way we expect. — Luna Lovegood

13. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. — Albus Dumbledore

14. Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion the most inexhaustible form of magic we have, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it. — Albus Dumbledore

15. We are all human, aren’t we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving. — Kingsley Shacklebolt

16. I am what I am an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed,’ my ol’ dad used ter say, ‘there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with. — Hagrid

Alan Rickman who played the character of Severus Snape in the films echoes my thoughts on Harry Potter perfectly. “When I’m 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, I’ll be reading Harry Potter. And my family will say to me, ‘After all this time?’ And I will say, ‘Always.’”