Recently, I stood in line at my favorite bookstore to get my copy of the new play, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," when it came out at midnight on July 31st. Surrounded by people dressed in costumes of their favorite characters, I felt transported back to my childhood. The delight I experienced when I received my book made me nostalgic for all of the other times I waited in anguish to receive my copy of the latest Harry Potter book. In this moment, I realized that Harry Potter has and will always be an important part of my life.

I, like many people my age, became acquainted with a wizard boy called Harry Potter when I was quite young. My father began reading the first book to me when I was in kindergarten, and I fell in love with Harry's world of adventure and magic. As an avid reader, I devoured the first four books over and over until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out in 2003. Many of my childhood memories are linked to the Harry Potter books and movies. I lost my first tooth while reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. When I was seven, I got a temporary lighting bolt tattoo on my forehead and refused to wash it off for weeks. On road trips, I used to sit in the back of my family's minivan and read "The Prisoner of Azkaban" over and over (it was my favorite of the books in elementary school). I did read many other books, but I always returned to the series for comfort. Harry taught me to be brave. His story helped me escape to another world when I was feeling down. It was something comfortable that I could turn to when I felt like relaxing. I always felt like I had to wait an eternity for the next installment to come out. It was all worth it when I got to read J.K. Rowling's writing and experience Harry's latest conquests.

Harry Potter also helped strengthen many of my friendships. Growing up, two of my best friends and I would spend a majority of our time watching, reading and discussing all things Potter. Even now, I realize that many 'potter heads' share a deep bond through a love of the series. My best friend from college also has a deep connection to Harry Potter, and agrees that it helped her seek solace when her real world was dark.

I will never forget the feeling I had when a cashier handed me "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:" a mixture of excitement and dread. Excitement, because I could not wait to learn the rest of Harry's story, but dread because I knew that this was the end, the last book.

There were still things to look forward to in the "Harry Potter" universe after the book came out — the rest of the films, the new theme park in Universal Orlando, Pottermore, and now this new play. I still felt at the time as though things were ending for Harry. However, it's been almost a decade since "Deathly Hallows" came out, and Harry Potter is just as important to me as it was then. There is something everlasting about Harry's story and I still continue to turn to it for comfort.

In her last of seven dedications for "Deathly Hallows," J.K. Rowling wrote, "and to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end." It is not yet the end. Harry 's story will always continue to be a part of me. Always.