Harry Potter...An Obsession

I have loved Harry Potter ever since I was in Middle School and was first swept away into its magical world. I started reading these masterpieces in 1999. It was the fall and only the first three books had been released. From then on, I was hooked. I vividly remember summer of 2000 laying on my bedroom floor, madly reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Once that book was completed, the next one did not premier until 2003. The fifth and sixth book I got the day they came out, but the seventh and final book, I went at midnight. I could not wait to hold a copy in my hands. My mind was reeling with how their epic journey would end. After buying the book at midnight, I went straight home to get a good nights sleep. I needed to prepare myself for the final Harry Potter marathon. It was summer time and a bright and sunny Saturday. I had no place to be for the next 48 hours, so I slipped away into fantasy. For the next 48 hours I ate and breathed Harry Potter. I was conflicted between whether or not to take breaks so that I could enjoy it longer, or read as fast as possible so I could have closure to almost a decade of wondering. I chose the latter and read as fast as I could. I laid in my hammock under the protection of the trees and read blissfully. I can't remember a more pleasant day. Sunny. Warm. Magical. Now, please don't judge me. Harry Potter is a phenomenon as it should be. I am not a big reader. I can probably tell you all the books I've willingly read since middle school. When I say willingly, I mean books I wasn't receiving a grade for reading them. The number is probably under 40. So for the last decade, I've probably read 40 books. That is not something I am proud of or ashamed of, but of those 40 or so books, 7 of them were Harry Potter books. I am not a big reader, so I credit JK Rowling for inspiring me and forcing me to read on a Saturday afternoon in July.

For me, Harry Potter ending on July 22, 2007 when I finished the epic story, but over the last few years I have reminisced every time a new Harry Potter film was released. All this to say, the Harry Potter phenomenon officially and finally came to an end this summer with the premier of the last installment of the Harry Potter movies. Below is a photo of me and two of my favorite people in the whole wide world. We were fully dressed up for the midnight 3D showing. Just so you know, you would have been a minority if you were not dressed up :)

Katie as Tonks, Leslie as a snitch, and me as Harry Potter

Thank you JK Rowling for chasing your dreams, and letting me live in your fantasy, if only for a while.

**Personal Disclaimer: Please do not judge books you have never read. I highly recommend everyone reading them. They will rock your world, and please note that I have never said that about a book before.

PS: Harry Potter brought us 

Edward Cullen...Thumbs Down

Dobby...Thumbs Up

"What a beautiful place... to be with friends. "

The hope that we may all be witches and wizards who are just waiting for our letters .:Sigh:.     Thumbs Way Up