Blogger Voice - What Harry Potter Means to Me

     When people generally pose the dreaded question "So what's your favourite series/book?" and I say Harry Potter, people think I'm giving the cliched answer; just saying what all the cool kids are saying. I admit I have more that one favourite series but I still go with Harry Potter - and it's not cause it's the cool answer; it's because the series means so much more to me than most books.

     I was one of those kids who knew first of the Harry Potter movies and only later realized they were books too. I saw the first three movies on TV; loved them and so my father got the books for me from his office library. I loved the movies for the magic, the visual effects and it was just beautiful. But the books for me were at a whole different level.

     Of course I love the writing and I think the plot's genius but also I'm most emotionally connected to this series than with most books. Harry Potter came to me when I was a somewhat lonely kid and it made me feel a lot less alone. And this series has taught me so much that I can safely say -I am the person I am today, because of these books. 

"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!”

     Hermione is probably the character who taught me a lot. She taught me it was absolutely okay to be a know-it-all and never to dumb down yourself for anyone. She's been my fictional role model for years.She also taught me to stand up for what I believe in. She keeps going strong with SPEW despite not having a strong following. She has opinions and she makes sure they are heard. She does not take bullshit from friends either and called out Harry and Ron when they were being stupid.

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”

     This is what helped me through high school. I didn't have the best kind of 'friends' but I found it so hard to move away from them. It was easier to just belong and pretend they were good friends. But Harry Potter helped me acquire the courage to step back from these people. It wasn't easy, and high school can be scary but I walked away from these people and honestly things were so much better. I have Harry and Dumbledore to thank for that.

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

      For a long time, Harry potter has been my go-to whenever I'm feeling down. For a long time, reading these books has been a comfort, always giving me strength and making me look at the positive side of things.

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

     Every single character has something to teach us and I daresay I learnt them all.

“Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.”

     Ginny Weasley is probably one of the most underrated characters in the series.She taught me that Bold is Beautiful and to not let people judge who I am. When Ron is judgmental about her choice of dates, Ginny promptly shuts him up!

“I think I'll just go down and have some pudding and wait for it all to turn up - it always does in the end.”

     Luna taught me to celebrate who I was and not try to fit into the standards that society makes for us. She taught me it's okay to be weird as long as your heart is in the right place.

“Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.”

      This series has taught me kindness, bravery, compassion, love, and so much more. Harry Potter to me means comfort and a sense of belonging and so, the next time anyone asks me "What is your favourite series of all-time?", I might hesitate (because let's face it, we readers have so many faves) but at the end of the day I'll always say Harry Potter; because it feels like coming home.

Is there a book that means a lot to you? Why? How do you feel about Harry Potter?