Memories of a Harry Potter Nerd

Me impatiently waiting in the theater for the premier of
  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

I've spent the last few days substitute teaching in a kindergarten classroom. Everyday, we have a scheduled "Rest and Recharge" time where everyone grabs a blanket, we turn off the lights, turn on some nice music, and rest on the floor quietly. Well, I couldn't find the iPod for music during this time, so I instead searched my phone quickly for some instrumental music to help sooth the atmosphere of the room. Basically all the instrumental music I have on my phone is from Harry Potter film scores so that's what we have been listening to! Not only do the kids love it, but man oh man, does it bring back some good memories of my own! Well, the most recent memory is actually of my constant reading and writing while in school since I used the same music to study, so I'm not sure if that's technically defined as a "good" memory--ha! Anyways, it must be due to the fact that I was listening to this wonderful, inspiring, beautiful music in an elementary school, but I had a flood of memories associated with Harry Potter come rushing back.

Today I would like to share some of my recollections from my magical Harry Potter childhood.

When I was in Kindergarten I went with my HP Fan Family to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the theater. And thus began my love story. In my kid's snack pack, at the bottom of my popcorn, I found a Harry Potter scar tattoo. I was ecstatic. I had my mom put it on my forehead because obviously that's where it was supposed to go. The next day at school, my scar got made fun of, but I didn't care. I was like Harry.

In 1st grade, I wanted to be Harry Potter for Halloween. My mom had already sewn a Gryffindor cape for my older brothers that I was all set to use. This time, when my costume idea was made fun of at school (apparently it was weird to want to dress up as a boy), the teasing registered a little too much, and I switched my costume to Snow White at the very last minute. Like, possibly the day of Halloween. I regret this decision to this day.


In 2nd grade, I read the first installment of the series for the first time. It took me months, possibly the entire school year, but I did it and I admit, I liked to brag about it. I convinced two of my friends to try as well, but only one liked it enough to finish it. (She's a Harry Potter nerd now too.)

In third grade, my reading skills grew exponentially. I read the first 4 books, which were all that had been released so far. Let me tell you, I think my proudest elementary moment was when I finished the big fourth book in only 10 days. 10 DAYS PEOPLE! And yet, one of my most vivid memories from 3rd grade is the one day that I didn't read about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. In 3rd grade, my dear Grandma Irene passed away and I missed school. That afternoon my teacher delivered me a large envelope full of cards and letters written by my classmates to console me in my sadness. That day I read those instead of Harry.

In 5th grade the 5th book was published, and at 870 pages, I finished it in 4 days. I'm pretty sure I annoyingly bragged about this any chance I could get. Sorry classmates. I proceeded to reread the paperback book all year long, and had to tape the spine over and over to keep it from falling apart.

In July before 6th grade the final book was released. My fellow Harry Potter addict, Bailey, and I made plans to go to the nearest Barnes and Noble book store for the midnight release. This was a 2 hour drive from our little towns but totally worth it! We crimped our hair and dressed in capes like Hermione(s), and sat in line for a few hours eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans and pretending like we were going to barf every time we got an icky one. OH WHAT JOY!

In 7th grade, my grandpa died and I inherited his collection of Harry Potter books. We had spent day after day together many summers, simply sitting in the same living room and reading the books. We didn't talk about them or comment to each other much, but we always shared a similar love for the wondrous story. I will always cherish those special editions to my collection.

I could go on...but this is already a long post! When something is so central to your everyday life for so many years, it only makes sense that there are some super vivid memories that stick with you for such a long time. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been my best friends for a long time, and that will be the case for the rest of my life.

This was my profile picture for an extremely long time after I
watched HP7 Part 1.
Obviously I hate Belltrix. And Obviously I was still in gymnastics
 because my arm looks great

Maybe next time I'll tell you about all the weird words that I learned from reading Harry Potter, after years of hilariously misreading them!

I'm out; off to reread again.