Pages



Why Harry Potter is important to us?

A collaboration with Beth aka http://www.harrypotterislife.blogspot.com.au/

Our lives before Harry Potter were dull and grey existences. Personally I did not have an active imagination and I did not like reading at all. I found reading boring, tedious and obsolete. Now I look back with incredulity that I could ever think of reading in such a profound way.  Before Beth and I had read Harry Potter our lives had not even a hint of imagination what so ever. So when we both read the first page, we were instantly transported into such a distant and amazing world; a world of adrenalin, apprehension, humour, and of course… magic.

A couple months shy of my 9th birthday my aunt let me borrow her copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. At that time it was a big deal, because she was very protective of her books. I was sceptical about it, because at the time I did not like reading at all. To my surprise I really enjoyed it. That was the first time of many that I experienced the exhilaration that comes with reading. It did take me a month to read it though. I was a shy child so I rarely talked and when I did I used a limited vocabulary. After reading Harry Potter my grades improved. I had a larger vocabulary, I could spell better and overall I received better results in all subjects, even maths. I tried so much more in class. I gained the courage to ask for help when I didn't understand, which was a very big thing for me to do. Hermione Granger was a great role model for me. I wanted to be so much like her that I went to the library every day. Prior to my Hermione Granger phase I didn't even know what a library was. I was elated when I got my own library card and could finally bring books home. My library card was my ticket to so many worlds; dystopian worlds, fantasy worlds, the rest of the world, a world of cooking and so much more. With that one library card I was exposed to so many new ideas and ways of thinking that I had never even dreamed of in my sheltered childhood.

Beth’s story is a little different from my own, she had always like reading and never hated it, but she hadn’t read a book that would have filled her life with magic. This is what Beth had to say when I asked her why Harry Potter is important to her. "I simply loved how J.K Rowling started out her first novel. She made you feel sorry for harry, as his parents had been murdered when he was an infant and then sent to his abusive family., he had no connection to the outside world, and even society. He was stuck in a little cupboard under the stairs for most of his life. This is where your heart melts for him.

But this all changed on his 11th birthday. When gamekeeper Hagrid storms through the Dursley’s door and helps harry, his life is changed forever. He is sent to Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. He makes many acquaintances but also precarious enemies in his later years. He goes through perilous challenges and faces treacherous creatures. Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows was an amazing ending to the Harry Potter series. There were many plot twists, and J.K Rowling kept everyone without a doubt, glued to the book until the very end. Severus Snape had turned out to love Harry and his family, one of the most captivating moments of the books I believe. He loved Lily Potter, and saved Harry from many perilous encounters.

The Dark Lord, Voldemort, had finally been stripped of immortality when his 8 Horcruxes had been destroyed, one of them unexpectedly being Harry Potter. The devastating battle of Hogwarts was one of the most heartbreaking moments as many students and teachers of Hogwarts had been murdered. It finally came to an end when Harry finished what Voldemort started. Friendship was one of the many scintillating message in the book. It was very realistic, unlike in most movies and books where there are no fights, quarrels and everything goes right. It’s not like that. Harry, Ron and Hermione got into fights, had their own opinions and tiny quarrels. It wouldn’t be the best experience, but in a way, it makes the bond even tighter. This is why I love the Harry Potter series so much. It’s a very powerful, beautiful and encouraging message to everyone.”The first Harry Potter book took me a month and the last one only took me a week! The Harry Potter obsessed period of my life is the foundation for who I am today. Since then I have read so many more books and have a list of favourite books because I get stressed out when people ask me what my favourite book is. As if I would only choose one! I’ve spent probably thousands of hours of my life just reading. There are probably millions of words in the English language probably more being made each year, with words like 'selfie', but I couldn’t possibly string together the words to describe how grateful I am for the positive impacts reading has made upon my life and how much I love it. Without reading I won’t be who I am today. I wouldn’t have a blog dedicated to reading. I wouldn’t have all my wonderful friends who I met through our shared love for reading. I wouldn’t have a bookshelf full of my favourite books. Now with the wisdom of my teens I’m only beginning to understand why reading is so important to me, it has changed my life for the better and I truly can’t imagine a world without reading.                                      

The first Harry Potter book took Kellie a month and the last one only took her a week! The Harry Potter obsessed period of our lives is the foundation for who we are today. Since then we have read so many more books and have a list of favourite books because we get stressed out when people ask me what my favourite book is. As if we would only choose one! We’ve spent probably spent thousands of hours of our lives just reading. There are probably millions of words in the English language probably more being made each year, with words like 'selfie', but we couldn’t possibly string together the words to describe how grateful we are for the positive impacts reading has made upon our lives and how much we love it. Without reading we won’t be who we are today. We wouldn’t have a blog dedicated to reading. We wouldn’t have all our wonderful friends who we met through our shared love for reading. We wouldn’t have a bookshelf full of our favourite books. Now with the wisdom of our teens we are only beginning to understand why reading is so important to us, it has changed our lives for the better and we couldn’t truly imagine a world without reading.      
Harry Potter helped us escape reality when we were feeling low. One night we were off to fight dragons and another night we were at Hogwarts learning how to make potions. We both strongly believe in the messages portrayed in Harry potter, which are friendship and love. Love is emphasized so much in the Harry Potter series. For example: The only reason Lord Voldemort couldn’t kill Harry was because he was protected by his mother’s love. It was stronger than Voldemort’s dark magic. It teaches us a lesson, it stays with us forever. J.K Rowling has made the most captivating and unbelievable book series in our generation. Her stories will live in us forever. Harry Potter had opened so many doors for us both. We had known each other since we were 4, but we wouldn’t be this close without Harry Potter, Harry Potter may not be the centre of our universe anymore, but we were deeply changed when we opened that first book. Harry Potter lives on in us. We are a part of the Harry Potter generation.

4 comments:

  1. This is amazing Kellie! Had so much fun doing this with you!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Kellie! I LOVE YOUR POSTS! you did a really good job working with Beth;)

    ReplyDelete