it was the end of a decade, but the start of an age

Harry Potter has officially reached the end of the road. And while I didn't go to the midnight show dressed up in HP gear, I still consider myself a Harry Potter enthusiast. And I, like millions of other people, am sad it's ending.

I think people have a difficult time because Harry Potter has been around since 1997. that's a long time. People get attached to things like these, people escape in Harry Potter. I think HP has become like Santa Claus. We know it's not real, but we believe anyways. In just reading that book or watching that movie, we could forget about our own problems and fully emerge into the magical world at Hogwarts. It's tought for that to end. I'm sure people made friendships because of Harry Potter, I'm sure it changed lives. So I get the mass hysteria and I sympathize.

I started reading the HP books a year or two after the first one came out. I was fascinated, and hooked. Harry Potter defines my adolescence. I was 11 when I started reading, 18 when I read the last book. In high school my friends and I were Harry Potter nerds. One year, instead of doing a Christmas gift exchange, we pulled each other's names and ordered our person an official wand from the Harry Potter store. My favorite memory, which I shared on twitter last night, was in July 05. We had just graduated and were spending our last few summer nights together. I distinctly remember five or six of us sitting on my friends' trampoline with the 7th book in our hands. We didn't speak. We just read. An occassional gasp, giggle, or whine got out, but other than that we were silent. Completly into the book. Our love for those books was someting we shared between us, and I will always cherish that.

And, while the books mean more to me than the movies, those movies also brought me joy. Many a times did I have Harry Potter movie marathons...grew to love Daniel, Emma,and Rupert. They brought our imagination to life and I thank them for that.

So, goodbye, Harry Potter. Thank you.