Two weeks ago, on the birthday of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling, the new Harry Potter story "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Part 1 and 2" was released. I was in a musical theater performance that night, and immediately afterward, I bolted to the midnight release at the bookstore. After making my very first Harry Potter book purchase on my own, one that my parents hadn't bought for me, I reflected on the thirty-five minute drive home that night how Harry Potter has influenced my life. When I got home, I finished "The Cursed Child" in less than an hour and a half! While there are many varied and conflicting opinions regarding "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," one thing is clear and constant: Harry Potter has touched the lives of people in so many ways that it cannot be fully described here.
My relationship with the world of Harry Potter began when I read the first book during the summer of my kindergarten year, as I was going into first grade. I went to an incredibly accelerated elementary school and began reading very early on in my teaching. Due to my parents' jobs, I moved around frequently as a child, and through all of the confusion and uncertainty, through all of the dire wishes and failed attempts to make friends, Harry Potter was there. In my fourth grade year, I was at a new school in northern California and it was a terrible year for me. To escape the loneliness and rejection I felt, I spent the majority of my time reading, particularly at recess.
Harry Potter influenced my childhood, and my adulthood, in a way that no other story has ever managed to match. Hermione Granger was and is my role model as I progress through my years of education, and that fervor is reflected in my work ethic. But, I am not the only one whose life has been forever changed by Rowling's Harry Potter stories. Countless people wish that we could experience a world like that of Hogwarts, to be sorted into our own house, to know the form of our Patronus, the shape of our boggart, and the composition of our wand. It is a world that places immense value on the meaning of love and the bonds of friendship. Harry Potter has taught us all many things that we will always carry with us, no matter where we go, or who we are.
It taught us that love is always the answer.
It taught us that it is okay to be alone sometimes, that it is okay to be a know-it-all, and that it is also okay to ask for help when you need it.
It taught us to never be afraid to be ourselves, and to never be ashamed of who we are.
It taught us that the right choices will never be easy to make.
It taught us that things are not black and white — we are not solely good or solely evil, but that our choices determine the capacity in which we behave, for either good or evil.
Harry Potter has helped me in discerning what I want to do as a career. After years of watching the behind-the-scenes videos of the cast of Harry Potter, I realized that I wanted to do and experience what the actors on the set of Harry Potter did. I want to become an actress. Harry Potter helped to lead me to that decision, and I am happily pursuing that dream now.
To any of you who have a special place for Harry Potter in your heart, either by watching the movies or reading the books, Harry Potter will always be there for us when we most need it to welcome us back home. Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for the stories that have and continue to touch the hearts of many.
