With the release of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” I’ve reflected on how much of an impact The Boy Who Lived has had on my life. Even though, it wasn’t quite the same as the OG books. It was still, dare I say, magical.

I’ve been a Harry Potter fan for basically as long as I can remember. I was 6 years old when I saw the first movie and I liked it a lot. So I kept watching the movies (over and over again still to this day) and eventually when I was 9 years old, I started reading the book series. From then on, I was completely obsessed with the series. I had Harry Potter coloring and sticker books, I had all the books and all the movies, and countless Harry Potter video games. I even had Harry Potter board games and puzzles. I am comfortable enough with myself and who I am to admit that I am a 20 year old with a Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix poster from 2007 on my wall. I can’t take it down now after nearly 10 years. What would be the point? My obsession led to me getting all kinds of HP themed clothing and accessories. I think I single-handedly funded the entire local FYE store. And I even went to midnight premieres for every movie except the first three.

Yes, that’s right. My mom allowed me to go to the midnight premiere of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” even though I was only 9. What can I say? I have a pretty cool mom who even tagged along because she loved them too. But I will admit I was scared sh*tless. Spoiler alert: Voldemort returns and it was scary for a 9 year old. I mean I’m still a little bit scared of him even as an adult a person pretending to be an adult.

Because of Harry Potter, I discovered Team StarKid, a theater group that puts on parody musicals including a trilogy musical series about the "Harry Potter" series. They also played a huge part of my teen years and helped me find some of my closest friends. So if you love musicals and "Harry Potte"r like I do, then this is for you.

And you better believe that I just about cried when Pottermore was announced when I was in high school. I remember solving all of the riddles to get early access. It was too easy for any hardcore fan. I am a proud Slytherin. I do really miss the games on Pottermore though so please bring those back, J.K. Rowling.

I will be honest though. I was hesitant when I heard that there was going to be a sequel. I really just kind of wanted to let it be and just keep the 7 books and 8 movies that were so close to my heart. But I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t hate "The Cursed Child." It wasn’t as good as the OG books, but it wasn’t terrible or life-ruining either. There were some very heartwarming moments and also some very hilarious, totally quotable Ron lines that I would be sad to miss out on if I hadn't read the play.

I never thought I would grow up to love reading so much, and Harry Potter changed that for me. I’ve read nearly 370 books (at least that’s what my GoodReads account says) and I’m always reading something whether for pleasure or for school. I would have never discovered my passion for writing had I not discovered how much I love reading. I started writing stupid little short stories as a preteen, but now I’ve graduated to writing for the Odyssey. I love writing articles whether they’re funny or serious or mostly just GIFS. And I’m one of those weird kids in class who loves essay questions and really long papers because this is where I excel most.

So to Harry Potter, I just want to say thanks. Thank you for my reading obsession and by extension, my love of writing. Thank you for always being around when no one else was. Thank you for all the laughs. I still think the dry humor in Harry Potter is better than most American comedies. Thank you for transporting me to a magical new world every time I read a page or watch a scene. Thank you for standing up for injustice against cruel, prejudiced bitter leaders such as Voldemort. Thank you for teaching me so many valuable lessons about friendship, growing up, and of course, love (both the romantic kind and the familial kind). Also thank you those Wii video games for allowing me to expertly practice my video game skills while simultaneously dueling everyone at Hogwarts no matter the house. I also really enjoyed being able to Wingardium Leviosa benches and other items into students because what else was I supposed to do after defeating Voldemort 14 times?

So anyway, now I’m just going to sit here, patiently wait on that Harry Potter Go app, and give some sassy facial expressions and eye rolls every time I see an article about J.K. Rowling saying that the story is over for good now. Oh honey, you said that last time and now we have an 8th 'Harry Potter' story, a play, and the 'Fantastic Beasts' series. And even if this time she is serious about it being over, never forget what she had to say at the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" --

“No story lives unless someone wants to listen. The stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”