A Far Too Emotional, Somewhat Cheesy, But Entirely Genuine Post About Harry Potter

"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend." - Stephen King

I was 10 years old when Harry Potter first came into my life. In true form of acquiring things before the rest of the world has discovered them, my dad purchased The Sorcerer's Stone in attempts read it to my brother, sister, and I each night. Looking back, it was the only book I remember reading together with family apart from the scriptures. We didn't find it too particularly amazing. It was good, I guess, but we didn't beg to be read to every night. With the second book, I took a little more independent initiative and read about half of it apart from our attempt at nightly readings. It wasn't until the third book that I was hooked. By that time, the Harry Potter phenomena started to take hold on the world.

Last Saturday, at age 23, the phenomena that is JK Rowling's world was finally completed. There was something very strange and unexpected about how I felt while watching part two of the Deathly Hallows. I was prepared to be lightheartedly entertained, but instead I was met with a raging waterfall of nostalgia and emotional poignancy.

I didn't read the last book out of homage to the films. I had been a devoted reader, but wanted to experience the last movie without my preconceptions. As much as the films are not as good as the books, the movies are a huge part of this phenomenon and I thought it was worth respecting. I didn't like the part one of the Deathly Hallows (at all) and I feared I would be let down with part two. But, from about 5 minutes into the second movie on, I was a giant ball of overflowing emotion. I never actually cried, but I was on the verge of it the entire time. This wasn't because I was saddened by what was happening during the storyline, but because I was finally realizing how integrated Harry Potter was in my life. Watching the film was like hitting a cathartic pressure release button.

As I watched part two of the Deathly Hallows on Saturday afternoon, I was finally grasping the idea of "coming of age" in my own life. I was pretty much the same age as Harry throughout the entire books, meaning my generation literally grew up with him. This story was there for middle, jr. high, and high schools, puberty, first loves, first kisses, first broken heart, angsty teen moments, manic young adult moments, and all the other things that make up the awkward experience that is adolescence. We all had Snapes, Dracos, Weasleys, Hermiones, Sirius', Dumbledores, Dobbys and most importantly Voldemorts in our lives. For many of us, the transition into full-fledged adulthood is just one giant Voldemort in itself. When we finally beat it with the help of our friends, love ones, and our own self worth, we may come out with scars... but it's not what has to define us. There is so much more than our trials and we get to choose the next step. We go through what we go through to decide to become who we are. We decide to become who we are to help others decide to become who they are. Circle of effing life, people.

As stupid as it sounds, the end of the Harry Potter era was very much so the proper end of my proverbial "coming of age"; nothing else has been such an, albeit accidental, reflection of my own life. JK Rowling's series is not complex literature, nor my favorite, but I'd argue that it's one of the most important works for my generation simply because it IS my generation. Even if you hate these books or movies, you have to at least acknowledge it's impact.

So with all that being un-eloquently said, I see last Saturday as the crescendo of my adolescence and a time to fondly say goodbye. I can let go of all my Voldemorts of past and wait for the prelude of my future. I'm officially a grown up.

But... uh... not too grown up.


peace,
k.