Happy Anniversary Harry

20 years ago today, a book was published. At the time, I was a happy six-year-old, enjoying the summer between kindergarten and first grade. A year and a half later, Ms Zoellner of Commonwealth Elementary, would read a book to her class, published June 27, 1997, a book about The Boy Who Lived. At the time, I was reading books like The Magic Tree house, The Unicorn Chronicles, The Dragon Chronicles, American Girl, and The Royal Diaries, but still, I was fascinated by the story of this little outcast, going on adventures, facing dangers, making friends, and becoming immersed in this wonderful, magical world which was so much stranger and so much better than the one he did not fit into. The next year, Ms Cash would encourage me to dive into that world which I was sure would be a better fit for me than this one. In 4th grade my Grampa would bring the first 3 books in the series to my house, especially for me... and that was it, I was hooked. With the approval and encouragement of both my favorite teacher and my beloved grandfather, my Sir Lancelot, I dive headfirst into the magical world of JK Rowling and Harry Potter.

2 years later I began to deal with what I would eventually discover to be Major Depressive Disorder. This world, this reality, became all but unbearable. Emotionally I completely shut down to try to stop the ache only to find numbness somehow even more painful and empty. Having just moved to Riverside and finding I wasn't quite as well liked as I had been at my old school, for the first time having to deal with bullies with not a friend to defend me, I retreated into my room. I would stare at the popcorn ceiling for hours in the dim light that came through my curtains... until eventually... I discovered that I could completely disappear whenever I wanted... by simply opening a Harry Potter book.

In my darkest of times, JK Rowling turned on the light.

Hogwarts became my home when I felt lost.

Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Neville, Ginny, Luna, Sirius, they became my friends when I felt utterly alone.

I laughed when they laughed, cried when they cried, bled when they bled.

These books are the reason I never gave up. They were my solace, they were my joy, they were my world.

Thank you, JK Rowling, Ms Zoellner, Ms Cash, and Grampa. Thank you for giving me this world. Because of you, all was well.