The Impact of Hogwarts on Me

Dear J.K. Rowling,

 

I started reading the Harry Potter series when I was ten years old and ever since I have loved the world of wizardry. I started reading the books with my older sister who was sixteen years old at the time and who had read the series multiple times before and we used to compete to see who could finish each book faster. The variety of characters in Harry Potter helped me always find someone to relate to and laugh about.

One of my favorite characters was Luna Lovegood because of how strange and odd she was. Despite the fact that I was born after the first movie-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone– came out, my sister had always managed to keep me up to date on what had happened in the previous film. When I got to see Luna Lovegood on the screen, I was even more in love with the character because of the imagination she showed. When Luna is introduced in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, she is shown as a very weird girl that no one really understands. I think I related to Luna a lot as a kid because I saw myself as quite odd as well. I used to play outside a lot by myself and have imaginary friends that I would play with. This can be seen in Luna when she is the only one who knows about the imaginary nargles.

I think the Harry Potter series changed me as I grew up because as I began to read more of the books as I grew older, I began to understand a lot more of the lessons that many of the characters tried to teach. One of the first lessons that I didn’t understand as a kid but can acknowledge now is that money can’t buy happiness. An example of this can be seen in the very first book when Harry buys the entire trolley of sweets for Ron and him. To Ron, this was an act of kindness because of the fact that he cannot afford many things because of the large amount of his family yet minimal money. Yet, as a reader continues to view the Weasley family, one can see that they are one of the happiest families in the whole series. This shows me now that money doesn’t have to make everyone happy but rather a good group of family and friends can fill you with a lifetime of happiness and peace.

Another lesson from Harry Potter is that there is more to what meets the eye. This can be shown with the character Sirius Black (rip). When readers are first introduced to his character, he is seen as an evil antagonist that works with the Dark Lord and has escaped Azkaban prison to kill Harry. Harry is also told that Sirius was the person to tell Voldemort where his parents were hiding so they could be murdered. Because of all of these rumors, Harry Potter and his friends develop a strong hatred for Sirius Black and are ready to kill him if he arrives. But when we learn the true story of Sirius Black, readers learn that he was framed and that he was actually best friends with Harry’s parents and is also his godfather. After this, Sirius Black only looks out for Harry and his friends and a reader can obviously see that a person should not believe everything that is said through gossip and rumors. This lesson taught me that I should always get to know a person more than any rumors I hear about them and to also not judge them about their past. Some people may have pasts that are rocky and others may have trouble looking by this but I believe it is unfair if you hold grudges against someone for something they can’t change. If the person acknowledges that they did something wrong and are working to fix it, you must learn to give them room to grow and fix their mistakes while proving themselves to you which, I believe, Sirius did by proving his loyalty and love for Harry.

Overall, the Harry Potter series has been one of the best series I’ve ever read in my life. It has taught me many life lessons along with helped grow my imagination and relate myself to a magical world. I definitely recommend the books to all kids of any age because they can teach valuable morals and offer a vision of creativity for all generations. Thank you for listening and I hope you continue to have an amazing writing career.

Sincerely,

Lexi Luft