So many people will comment on how they grew up reading the Harry Potter books and that they could relate to one character or another and they were able to evolve with those same characters. I am not one of those people. 

The first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, came out in June of 1997 in the United Kingdom. At that time, I was 11 (the irony of that fact is not lost on me) and it hadn't been released in the Us. The next year, in September of 1998, it was released here. During this time in my life, which was my 6th grade year, I was more interested in reading RL Stine and Christopher Pike books or not reading at all since I wasn't a huge fan of reading then.

I am pretty sure that I saw the first movie soon-ish after it was realeased in 2001, but I honestly do not remember. My most vivid memory of reading the books and watching the movies was in 2005 when I was sharing an apartment with my brother and going to college. I watched the first movie and had the first book out and was comparing how close they got the details and the dialogue (you should try it - it is sooooo close). Sometime after that, I had read all of the books that were available and loved the series. 

When the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in July of 2007, my husband dropped me off at our local book store for their release party, which was mostly young children and their parents, as well as my 21-year-old self. I had my iPod Shuffle (the original that looked like a jump drive) in so that something like what happened when the sixth book was released wouldn't happen and nothing would be ruined. Looking back, we live in a smaller city and that wouldn't have happened, but I couldn't take the chance. I devoured that book in the following 24 hours with short breaks and naps. I laughed and cried - it was magical!

Fastforward to now and I am a 36-year-old Hufflepuff that isn't afraid to show my house pride and indulge in all things that are related to Harry Potter. We have gone to Universal three times now and enjoyed interactive wands and food. I have a wizarding world themed classroom and have for the majority of my 13 years of teaching. My phone case alternates between wizarding world themes and Disney (I can have two themes/fun things to love). I even have a tatoo that surrounds my own scar which shaped my current life that is the words "All was well." with the stars from the book pages bookending it.

Harry Potter and the wizarding world are a large part of my life. Anyone who meets me will find that out very quickly. Sometimes you just need magic in your world to remind you that things can get better and they can also get worse, but the way we handle those moments makes us who we are. Everyone can use magic - we just need to embrace it!

- Tanya