When I was a young child, I fell deeply in love with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, just like many children in my generation. I read every single book thrice and counted down the days until the next movie premiere. I would wish for poor eyesight so I would need glasses, and sometimes I would even use my mom’s eyeliner to draw the beloved lightning bolt scar on my forehead. It became my childhood and shaped me into the avid reader and courageous person I am today. Against my parents’ will, I got a small tattoo to commemorate my wizardly love.
Looking back, I remember being aware Star Wars existed, and I knew who Yoda was because I compared his reputation to Dumbledore. However, the famed trilogies were just background noise. I was also driven away from the films because of their odd order of production. Up until this year, my knowledge of Star Wars was based off the boxy Lego figures I virtually battled with my brothers on our PlayStation. It wasn’t until the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” that I started to gain sincere interest. It seemed as if every Instagram and every Facebook status I saw worshiped the new movie. “Saturday Night Live” even had a grand time with the new release and especially actor Adam Driver.
It was a Friday evening when I finally caved and saw the movie with my roommate (who had already seen it twice). After being against the Force for so many years, I left that theatre in awe. It was easily the best movie I had ever seen — aside from “The Goblet of Fire.” That weekend, I binge-watched all the Star Wars movies and watched countless YouTube videos of interviews with the cast. Then my roommate asked me if I had to grow up as a wizard or Jedi, what would I choose? Oh man. Toughest question of my life. The ability to travel to different galaxies on a whim and have the Force within me would be amazing, but so would the ability to perform magic. When it came down to it, I had to stick to my upbringing. I’m not saying people who favor Harry Potter are better, but if it weren’t for those books, my life would be much different now. Those seven beloved books are what made me adore reading and the stories that lie within, be it a chemistry book, poetry book or fiction. It's magic.
