A lot has been going on in the Harry Potter world recently. "The Cursed Child" came out about a week ago, and, though I was slightly disappointed with it, I still finished the book too quickly and mourned when it was over. However, my mourning is not as intense as at the ending of the midnight premier of "Deathly Hallows Part 2," because in November, the world will be blessed with another movie and more insight into the wizarding world.

I've been immersed in Harry Potter for as long as I can remember. My mom read the series aloud to my sister while I curled up at the end of the bed and listened, too little to read myself. I can remember seeing the end of the first movie at the age of 5 and having no fear when Voldemort revealed himself because I trusted heroic Harry. When playing outside, I was convinced that if I found the right twig in the yard, it would turn out to be a wand. The 7^th book was released when I was six, and my family and some equally as enthusiastic friends traveled to Chicago donning robes to participate in the wizarding festival in the suburb of Oak Park. My sister and I received “Hogwarts letters” (addressed in green ink on parchment and sealed with wax) that were delivered by two owls).

I can picture them perfectly: one brown, one snowy, swooping over the pine trees and dropping something onto the porch of our tree house. My imagination was huge and strong and convincing and I credit JK and Harry for that. In fact, I credit the books with having a lot of influence on my life.

The series instilled a hunger for literature- well-written, brilliant literature -and I credit my ability to do well in school to my love for reading.

I credit Hermione for my desire to achieve, to stand out no matter my background and to be an unapologetic nerd.

I credit JK for creating the role models I looked up to that weren’t presented as good-looking or perfect, but realistic people doing great things.

I credit Harry, Ron and Hermione for showing me the important qualities to look for in close friends. Their friendships had ups and downs, as they do in real life, but their loyalty and willingness to help each other no matter how extreme is forever etched in my mind.

I credit the four houses for focusing on character traits, showing me the necessity of each and revealing which ones matter to me the most. Out of all the inner qualities- bravery, intelligence, ambition-the Hufflepuff in me most values loyalty, hard work and kindness.

I credit the books with showing me the importance of being a well-informed citizen, being open minded and being accepting of and learning to love those who are not like me. Not only were the books one of my first introductions of basic good versus evil; they also taught me deeper concepts like the danger of slavery, racism and biased media.

Even when I was young, I knew I could never actually have magical powers, but the golden trio convinced me that children can save and influence the world. Because of this, I know the importance of standing for good, even when the world is around me seems helplessly, chaotically evil. Harry did not give up when the world turned against good. Hermione spoke for those without voices. Ron remained down to earth despite his high blood status, and was understanding of those with little in the world to call their own.

Years after receiving the Hogwarts’ letters, I told my mom, “I get how you could have gotten Hogwarts letters written to us, but I’ve never understood how you managed to get two owls to land on our tree house.” Amused and incredulous, she informed me, “There were never any owls. I needed you to find the letters, so I simply told you to look out the window at the tree house at the two big owls flying out.” The large, magical birds never existed, though I truly believed I saw them that day. If a child’s imagination is powerful enough to plant a memory of two nonexistent owls by the mere suggestion of an adult, I can only imagine the influence of what children hear, see and read. I’m glad Harry Potter is what influenced me.