Thank you J.K. Rowling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE3CgKl59dY&feature=player_embedded
This is an amazing endeavor I encourage anyone that Harry Potter means something to become involved in. I personally, over think absolutely everything I do, and can never make a decision on anything, have been thinking about this all night.


How do you say thank you to someone who had brought you something as immense as the Harry Potter fandom? And continues to surprise and expand on it (aka Pottermore, which we'll talk more on later).


I feel like I'm 15 again, trying to come up with a speech for my sweet 16 candles; thanking my parents and everyone else for.... For what? Thanks for driving me to school? Cooking me dinner? Supporting me at my games? These are memories, yes, but how do you thank someone for who they are? For being there, for existing. For the fact my life is better because of the quality of their person.


Thank you J.K. Rowling, for existing? It's a little weird, and not what I'm trying to get across.


Thank you J.K. Rowling, for writing books that became more than just books, they were not just a part of my life anymore, my life was a part of it.


Thank you for giving me a place to escape to. Thank you for being so detailed that there are never ending possibilities to my imagination. Thank you for creating something that has completely changed my life. Thank you for giving birth to characters that I have fallen in love with, that I can connect with. Thank you for giving me the ability to be passionate about something that to other people in the world  doesn't even exist. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for making magic real. Thank you for articulating love, for portraying heart wrenching grief, for keeping faith in friendship. Thank you for Dumbledore's quotes, for Harry's blind love and courage, for Hermione's determination, for the Marauder's infallible loyalty. Thank you for Sirius. Thank you for giving me my firsts; my first passion, my first love, my first loss... And thank you for being there now, when it seems like we're losing everything, its all ending, and telling us it will never be out last.


Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for everything.

Between Love and Madness lies Obsession

Welcome to the beginning of what I hope will be an adventure that never ends. I'm hoping this will help me work through comprehending this chapter of my life that is coming to a close. It all started about 13 years ago, when a pristine copy of a new book was left on my bed. Flash forward to present day, that same book is yellowed and worn, with a signature on the title page (by none other than Daniel Radcliffe; The Boy who will forever be Harry Potter). It represents the journey that has taken place that has brought us here.

Harry Potter is not just a part of my life, its a part of me. With the final movie coming out, its hard to explain to most people what this really means, and trust me, I've tried. But it's impossible to explain something that just IS. 

My books; they are tangible evidence of how much time had been spent with this series. Goblet of Fire; The cover is only attached by a few strings. Prisoner of Azkaban? Sections of the book have fallen out. The bindings are fragile (quote from HBP anyone?), the covers are discolored, the edges of the pages are soft and worn.... And I take complete pride in this. These books are loved.

I began reading Harry Potter when I was in third grade, and I never stopped. I eagerly awaited every new book, devouring it as quickly as possible. The first time reading the books, they were impossible to put down. I hit the back cover, flipped it over and began again. My mom tells me a story about discovering my eight year old self still up at around 1 am, reading, and I refused to go to sleep because "I have to find out if he's going to die!" In hindsight, she expressed some concern over the darkness factor of the books; which was well-warranted because of how prone to nightmares I was (I had a recurring one about a large black dog stalking me; good to know Sirius knew we would be soul mates, even if at the time he was terrifying me).  

I grew up with these books, with these characters, and I fell in love with them. I reached out and I connected with them all. Hermione was smart and determined, Ron was goofy and lovable, Harry was courageous and reckless: and they became my friends. They grew up as I grew up. And as I refuse to actually believe I've grown past a teenager, I can not begin to fathom that they have already moved on to 19 years later. 

Logically, after Deathly Hallows came out, I should have started to work my mind around the idea that Harry Potter was coming to a close. However, I put it off, and since new movies were still coming out, it was easier to pretend that it would never end. And now, punctuated by the tagline on every new poster, I'm being bombarded with the fact that "It All Ends Here." Before I knew it, there were 22 days left, and I don't have a time turner. 

I've floated around a lot in this, because making my point, as I said, is not simple. However, the idea I'm attempting to work through with this is: what is going to happen after July 15?

Answer:   ....

I have no fucking idea.