Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Love Of My Life (also known as Harry Potter)

I grew up in Hogwarts. Magic is my drug of choice (other than caffeine. And sugar. And my cell phone. And, um, boys...Okay, so . . . fine, I have a lot of so called drugs.)
However, this one is particularly fabulous.
Um, yeah. I'm ready for the 7th movie. I have loved Harry Potter from the first grade. I read the 5th on a flight to Hawaii, I stayed up until midnight to buy the 7th, and I have religiously watched the movies and read the books every year.
The truth is, people like say that I'm the generation of cell phones, laptops, and ipods. When I wear lip gloss and mascara, they say I'm the generation of Maybelline and America's Next Top Model and the Generation of Bad Esteem and Shoddy Morals (I didn't make that up, btw). I am Generation Y, Millennial GenerationGeneration Next and even part of the Echo Boomers. Dude, Wikipedia even defines my age group as the Peter Pan Generation. Recently, people classify 16 year old girls as the Twilight group. But before Twilight, and more important than labels that really don't mean anything, or the somewhat sad stigmas about makeup and appearance, there was Harry Potter. And honestly?
I think one of the most important labels of my childhood is Harry Potter. I am the generation that JK Rowling helped raise along side Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I grew up with the books, and I think they really did help shape me into who I am; an unashamed bibliophile.
I learned to care for book characters, even when they came to sad ends . . . .


and I have drooled over the movies . . . 


I remember before Edward even existed how cool Cedric Diggory was.


I learned that humor is key to a great book and great life


and that friends are the best things in the world.


I was shown that heroes don't have to be perfect for us to root for them.


I got my first book crush


and I learned that smart girls could be sexy too


and I watched as Harry Potter changed the literary world. Even as a little kid, I watched the bookshelves fill.
I can remember walking into a store at, like, eight, and found a pretty sparse collection. Three years later, it would be getting thicker. Six more, and the shelves of young adult would be overflowing. 
JK Rowling didn't give me my love for books, but she definitely enhanced it. These books have been part of my life back when I thought flirting was chasing boys around the playground, that gooey green nail polish was hard core, and before I knew I wanted to be an author.
Now, I realize you probably shouldn't chase boys, or let them chase you (especially when the boy is holding worms. You stop, glare at them, and inform them that worms are nasty and if they think they are going to come near you with slime hands, they are utterly deranged.) I write everyday. And I still think green nail polish is hardcore.
Part of me is really sad that Harry Potter is going to be over. But the other part sees it a little bit differently. Harry's going to be all grown up.
And so am I, Peter Pan Generation or no.
But just so you know, you are soooo not taking away my nail polish.
What about you? Did Harry Potter change your world, or was it Twilight? Was it the Matrix movies or Little Women  or Jane Austen? 
For me, I learned most of what I needed in those books. They taught me everything I talked about before, but they taught me something else, too. They showed me that, sometimes, you have to believe in magic.
More later.

8 comments:

mo said...

Dude. I wanna go to Harry Potter World SO FRICKIN BAD. Sorry, this just reminded me of that little tidbit.

Anyways, I love Harry Potter. With a passion. I mean, I haven't read the books (well, mom had to blab to me the whole time she was reading them, so I feel like I have), but I'm pretty sure the movies changed my life. I spent like, two months wearing a pair of fake HP glasses because I was in love with it so much. For realz.

Also, I do love The Matrix. Hello, can we say slow-motion dodging of bullets, and leather, and some major bad@ss-ness? But technically Twilight is what got me reading. Which saddens me to say, but those books are still good. (It's just seriously easy to make fun of them.)

And yeah. This comment is long. Sorry!

Sam said...

Maggie: I love long comments. You know that. It makes me feel hard core. -grins-
I do too. WE SHOULD GO.
And you need to read them because then I can discuss them with you. At length. -nods-
Matrix is amazing. But yeah, it was Twilight. Then the Host. Then Hunger Games. So technically, I would say Hunger Games. -nods again- I remember when you used to think movies were better than books, though. You and Veronica used to argue with me about it. And then would make Kalub STEAL MY BOOK WHEN I HAD FIVE PAGES LEFT.
AND LOOK. My comment is as long as yours. (I think. Going back to add stuff to make it as long or longer.)
Oki doki.
DONE.

Emilia Plater said...

This this this this this this this this this this

HP = my childhood.

That's all. *sob*

Anonymous said...

HP= MY LIFE.

I am so unbelievably excited about this!

Lyla said...

Ohhh man. I'm reading these over again like I do every summer, and loving them just as much =) I have to admit some ignorance though... who is the guy in the second picture? I don't recognize him from the movies...

Sam said...

Emillia: Yes. I agree. I'm gonna be so sad when it's over. No more gleeful anticipation.
GirlInBetween: OMG, me too. I'm debating the midnight show.
Lyla: That would be Tom Felton, AKA my future husband. Ahem. Or, AKA Draco Malfoy. -grins- He looks different without the blonde hair, huh?
I'm rereading them too. I'm just reminded how much I love them.

Aspen Arnthors said...

GAH, amazing post. I agree so much with every word on this page that I could just as well copy paste it to my blog.

Harry Potter is like, indescribably important to me.

I think if my house was burning down I would probably run and save my Harry Potter books.

I always felt like it had a little piece of my heart. I remember when I was in the third grade and my teacher read the Sorcerer's Stone for us. I remember thinking how much Hermione was JUST LIKE ME. And that's what I felt like through the whole series, that I was reading about myself. Years later, JK Rowling posts random trivia on her site, including Hermione's birthday.

September 19th.

MY BIRTHDAY.

I will never, ever stop loving Harry Potter. The books.

I am proud to say that when I heard who would be playing Edward Cullen, I went "hey! that's Cedric Diggory!" But I don't really like the movies.

I don't know what I'll do though, when I have to walk out of HP7 Part 2.

And yes, Tom Felton is very very very so amazing. (I signed Mrs. Felton everywhere for seriously like two years). I'm going to London in 33 days. His girlfriend better watch out ;)

Aspen Arnthors said...

Oh yeah and GREEN NAILPOLISH IS VERY, VERY HARDCORE.