Oh, Harry Potter...

During the late 1990s, when the Harry Potter books were in their infancy, I refused to read them. I was certain that they were full of satanic verses and theories.* As a church-going Christian teenager, the books were not for me. Plus, everyone expected you to read them and I enjoy being contrary.

In the summer of 2001 or 2002, after the fourth book had been published, my wonderful Grandma came to stay for a few weeks. She brought a hardcover edition of the fourth book with her for my sister and me to read. It languished in various corners of the house until, one day, I ran out of things to read (oh, the horror!!). Reluctantly, I picked up Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, certain that I would hate it. That I probably wouldn't even finish it.

I couldn't have been more wrong. I LOVED it. The characters, the description, the writing... wonderful, suspenseful, thrilling, incredible. I couldn't wait to read the others. I did have to wait, of course. And because library-going had become rare in that time, I saved up my money to purchase the books at WM. I got the first two in paperback (horrid for me, as I love hardcover) and the third in hardcover. I read them quickly, devouring the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and the requisite, ever-increasing danger of Lord Voldemort. (Interesting fact: My copy of the fourth book actually went to Harvard when I lent it to a teacher. Harvard!)

When the fifth book came out, I had purchased it on Amazon and it arrived on my doorstep the day it was released. I purchased the next two books the same way. I would swallow the books in one gulp, it seemed, finishing the books within a day. It had become customary for me to re-read all the books before the new book came out, too.

Upon finishing the seventh book, I felt disgusted by what had happened. I had always pegged Snape as a bad guy. To learn that he had, in fact, been as good as Dumbledore claimed was disappointing. And I didn't want Harry with Ginny. I always felt he had more in common with Hermione (although, I see that he and Hermione are more like brother-and-sister than potential love interest). And finally, I was disappointed with how the prophecy was circumvented by making Harry an unintended Horcrux. It seemed to me, from the prophecy and the final books, that Harry should die in the process of killing Voldemort. For him to live and have the "Nineteen years later" epilogue seemed wrong. I remember thinking that Rowling took the easy way out; instead of living with the sadness of killing Harry off, she devised some way to keep him alive, even though it seemingly went against everything previously written.

Disgusted by what had happened in the last book, I packed up all my books and promptly gave them away.

I continued to watch the films as they had been released (the fourth and fifth films being major disappointments), but I did not re-read the books. In November, the first part of the film-version of the final book will be released. I finally felt it was time to re-read the books once again. So, in the beginning of September, I picked up the first book and read through the entire series within a month's time. As I have little free time, all the reading came just before bed or during lunch at work.

It was a WONDERFUL visit back to the land of Hogwarts. Nice to see all the old gang back together again. And it was nice to see that Rowling's writing was just as excellent as I'd left it. It was TERRIBLE to finish the final book. I wanted to start the entire series all over again. I wanted to spend more time at the Weasleys, more time at Hogwarts, more time with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and all their friends and enemies.

As I finished the fourth and fifth books, I rewatched their respective film counterparts and realized how much those two films completely butchered the books. However, I am looking forward to the final two films... generally, the films are entertaining, despite their maiming of the text. The fourth and fifth films were the least enjoyable of the series, though. Whether this is due to the dark nature of those books, I am not sure.

It will be hard to say good-bye to the Harry Potter film franchise, just as it was hard for me to say good-bye to the Harry Potter books this year. Things that are really great and wonderful are terribly difficult to leave behind. Good thing the books are widely circulated in print and digital formats so that I may continue to read them forevermore.

*The books are not satanic. While they are about wizards and witches, the books are more about the battle between good and evil, with Lord Voldemort and his Nazi-like ideas of one race (the pure blood Wizarding race!) being the Devil figure. Harry and his friends that fight against Voldemort are like the ordinary individuals who continue to rally against evil in the world.

Society = Fail

From The Advocate: School Official Wants Gays Dead

The article details the Facebook ramblings of a school official in the Midland School District in Western Arkansas. Clint McCance railed against the call to wear purple to support LGBT youth and the recent suicides that has been rocked the LGBT community and the world at large. His response is that the only way he would wear purple is if ALL homosexuals committed suicide. He goes on to comment that wearing purple honors their deaths, which are a sin, and honors that they killed themselves BECAUSE of who they are, which is also a sin.

Wow. He completely missed the impact of the recent suicides. Those children felt alienated for being THEMSELVES. They were BULLIED by their peers. We should remember that we ALL have feelings, whether we are gay, straight, black, white, green, purple, or red. Someone may not be like us... may be different than ourselves. This is no reason to ostracize someone. Our differences should be celebrated not attacked.

Those kids didn't commit suicide because they were homosexual. They committed suicide because they were bullied. Because they felt alone, like they had no one on their side. We, as a people, should be more tolerant and accepting of others. We can't fix every thing or everyone. We can't prevent every suicide. But we FAIL as a society when individuals are committing suicide because they are bullied by their peers.

To anyone who has been thinking of committing suicide: Don't. Things can and WILL get better. But things can't get better for YOU if you're not here to witness it. Hold your head up high and keep moving forward. As Robert Frost said: "The best way out is always through."

The through is rarely easy. But the getting there? Through the through? You will be stronger than you ever imagined.

It Gets Better.