HP7 - the official end to my childhood

Almost exactly two weeks ago, in the extremely early hours of July 15th, 2011, my childhood officially ended. When I walked out of the theater in London having watched the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, I felt different. Obviously, being almost 20, I haven't been a child for quite a while, but something still changed that morning.

I have been more or less obsessed with Harry Potter since I was 11 years old. I've read the books cover to cover so many times that they are falling apart. I have the movies memorized, and I haven't missed a midnight premier since they started them with the 3rd movie. Some call me crazy and clinging to childhood, but there is something special about this story. I literally grew up with them. I first started reading these books when I was 11 (the same age as Harry in the first book), and I have been roughly Harry's age for every book. I have grown up on the same pace and Harry, Ron and Hermione. It doesn't hurt that I've always pretended to be a Weasley! I am Ron Weasley.

As they grew up, I started growing up. As they realized the horrors and evils of the world around them, I realized the horrors of the world around me! I recently read an article comparing the Harry Potter series and my generation growing up in a post 9/11 world. I was in third grade when the 9/11 attacks tragically happened in New York, and that was the first breaking of innocence in my childhood. The article, which I just tried to find again but couldn't, was written shortly after Bin Laden was killed. It connected Bin Laden with Voldemort and drew multiple erie parallels between the last decade and the decade of Harry Potter.

Erie parallels aside, Harry Potter was the only lasting 'thing' from my childhood. I'm now well into college and choosing a career path, and even contemplating getting my masters degree and political aspirations and whatever else my future might hold. Potter always has been, and will continue to be to a certain extent, my escape from my new adult world back to my childhood. By picking up any of the books to a random page, or turning on one of the movies or audiobooks, I can immediately jump right back into the story like it's the first time I'm reading it.

The books have been an escape for me in some of my most troubled times in my life. I can read the books and forget about my pain and just engulf myself in the magical world. It was a distraction and comfort to me when I was scared, angry, emotional, or just bored. That's the main reason why I cried through basically the entire film. My life is changing now, and a new and exciting chapter in my life is just starting. I'm in Europe, away from any comforts of home (either in PV or in Santa Barbara). I won't be home for almost 6 months, and I'm being forced to mature and become even more independent. Simply put, I'm not a child anymore. As scary as it is to admit it to myself, I'm an adult!

Even though I'm becoming an adult, the Harry Potter series will have a lasting impression on me for the rest of my life. It helped shape me into who I am today. I wish I could thank J.K. Rowling personally, but I know she's gotten the message already from thousands of fans just like me. I should probably write her (note to self: write J.K. Rowling thanking her while still in Scotland). I will forever be grateful to her, and to the magical world she created!

Hogwarts will always be there to welcome me home