BY MEGAN COFFEY (’18)
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
Wizards and quidditch and horcruxes, oh my!
These enchanting things are just a glimpse into the wonderful world of Harry Potter.
When I first ventured into the chapter book section of the library back in elementary school, the thick, hardcover books fascinated me. In the third grade I choose a book with a boy on a flying broomstick on the cover. Little did I know I had just picked up a book that would become my favorite.
I read that book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, faster than I had ever read a book before. I was so entranced with the magical world that J. K. Rowling created that I just couldn’t put it down. As soon as I finished I moved on to the next book and so on and so forth. As the movies came out I watched those too. I was completely captivated by Harry, Hermione, Ron and their adventures.
As I grew up, the Harry Potter novels were always there with me. Whenever I wanted an escape from the mundane, I reached to my bookshelf and opened one of the novels. I dove into the silly Hogwarts pranks, the serious battles of good versus evil and the otherworldly spells. J. K. Rowling and the Hogwarts crew gave me a way to explore my imagination. For me, Harry Potter was an outlet for my overactive mind. I dreamed of getting a Hogwarts letter in the mail, I loved to recite spells and I tried to be as smart and witty as Hermione. The Harry Potter books gave me access to another world. A world full of excitement, role models and world where anything was possible.
When my younger brothers entered the third grade I felt a sense of satisfaction as I passed my books onto them. I smiled when they began to read them and ask me questions. I loved watching the movies with them after they had finished the corresponding novel. I was so thrilled that they had also fallen in love with a world that had given me so much joy, and I hoped that it would do the same for them.
I was never bored with the Harry Potter novels and the excitement they brought me. In fact, to this day I still reread the novels and re-watch the movies because J. K. Rowling’s magical world still challenges my imagination. The books were there for me when I first started my journey with literature and they are there for me now. Hogwarts truly is my second home.