So, it's July 31 and it's Harry Potter and Jk Rowling's birthday. Thought I'd post something about Harry Potter today. I wrote this last July 16 after watching the last movie. :)

                Right now, it’s 3:40 in the morning and I still can’t sleep despite my long day.

That’s when I went out of my bed and started typing. Instinct told me that I have something to write, and this is how I’ll be able to rest.

When I watched the very last movie of Harry Potter, I was overwhelmed with sadness and happiness at the same time. I was sad that it has to end, but I was happy that it finally did. At one point, I thought to myself, “Now what do I do? What do I look forward to?”

                Of course, I thought of the future. Top 1 on my Bucket List is to go to Paris and explore Europe, so that’s what I’ll look forward to. But even that is too far in the future. The question is, what do I do next month, next week, or tomorrow? Well, after much reflection for the past few months, I fortunately figured out that I’m a person of the present and I don’t have too many short-term goals as much as  long-term goals. I guess the movie’s end just magnified some things that I haven’t thought of yet, that I should.

                Anyway, I also realized that the Harry Potter Series have been there for most of my life. It wasn’t always present in my active mind, but it has always been with me throughout my puberty stage.

                After tossing and turning in bed, memories came flooding back. Most of which are the milestones in my life so far. When I first started reading the Series, I was near the end of my grade school. I didn’t understand the first book much and I seldom laughed at what could be funny moments in the book. It is because I was reading them for the sake of saying that “I read it”. The truth was, I really didn’t understand much.

                When I acquired my second book, that’s when I understood most of the story; and so, I re-read the first book again. That’s when I realized that books can be entertaining. Around this time, my sense of humor started to grow.

                As implied, it was Harry Potter that opened the floodgates into my love of books. I remember in my sophomore year of High School that I used up three library cards because I got really fond of reading. Sure, they were pocketbooks for teenagers, but they definitely made my English better and effortless gradually.

                While I was undergoing changes in my life, Harry Potter was in the process of being published and filmed. I remember my high school days when I was forced to take lessons that I was never interested in. I remember wanting to try every thing my school has to offer in terms of extra-curricular activities. I joined the choir, the cheerdancing team, and the CAT rank of officers. I fell in love, and got my heart broken. I went to college not only with a broken heart, but also with big dreams. I loved college because I had the freedom to choose what I wanted to study. I got homesick because I stayed in a dorm. I learned how to live a little more independently, my sisters got married and went abroad, I shifted Courses, and I’ve gained and lost weight much too often.

                I guess JK Rowling has that power to keep me company whether I was happy or not. All I know is that, I just realized how much things has changed and how mature and strong I‘ve been throughout the whole process.

                So, now that the Harry Potter books and movies are all done, who’s going to be my company? And again, what will I do with my life?

                I once said that there are time machines in this world; and they are called books. Harry Potter is definitely a time machine that will take me back to my childhood, where everything is a little bit more innocent; where everything is a little bit happier and safe.

                So I’ll take this as a sign of growing up. I should now be decisive and more capable of what I should do with my life. For now, what I can think of is that if I ever had the chance to produce a Horcrux, I’d put a little bit of my soul in a Harry Potter book, because that’s where a part of my soul really is.

“Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” – JK Rowling

*Free-written after watching the last movie. 

July 16, 2011

3:38am