Image courtesy of Warner Brothers, Harry Potter
With the impact of Hurricane Irma looming, I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about the Harry Potter fandom and how the books help get me through tough times.
First off, I want to start the article by saying if you were affected by Irma, I’m so sorry. I know how difficult it can be. I was in the path of Irma as well, and it was my first hurricane. Very scary stuff.
Whenever I see a tragedy like this happen, I’m reminded of the Harry Potter fandom, and how supportive they are. Whenever a tragedy happens, my facebook friends that like Harry Potter are the first people to offer me lumos and support.
In my friends alone, many of them offer me support on any bad day, for any reason for that bad day. There really isn’t another fandom that has such a caring base. That between the shipping wars and the disagreements, that there’s a good part of the fans that just want to do something good.
The Books
Besides the fandom, there’s also some comfort that comes with knowing the story. I’ve developed an “If Harry can do it, so can I” mentality. Whatever I face, I know that Harry had faced something bad and came out of it alive, even if changed. One of the many lessons that the books and movies taught me is that you can tackle any challenge, and there will always be another side.
The other main lesson that Harry Potter taught me is to lean on my friends. Those amazing, wonderful people I mentioned? I wouldn’t be anywhere if I didn’t lean on them from time to time. Harry showed me that you need friends to help you through hard situations, or you wouldn’t be able to do it.
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Would Harry have been able to get to the Sorcerer’s Stone? Or win the Tri-Wizard Tournament without his friends? I don’t think so.