Growing Up with the Boy who lived

Harry Potter, The Boy who Lived. 

Everyone loves Harry Potter. His story pretty much resonates with every millennial and muggle, whose growth reflected Harry’s own during the course of the seven novels written by Rowling. 

Here we are today, celebrating 20 years of this undying magic in our lives. 

I still remember the first time my parents took me to watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was five. A few years after, I read the first book. Since then, I don't remember spending more time with any other novel other than Harry Potter. I was in my early adolescence when I read Deathly Hallows, a book that coincided with and felt symbolic of my generation’s entry into my teenage years. The last book had me feeling a little nostalgic. My love of all things Hogwarts continued into my teenage years and young adulthood. As the characters grew older, so did I. This is probably the most unique experience our generation has had : We grew up right alongside Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Under the care and guidance of Dumbledore, Hagrid and in the end Snape. 

These characters, I had spent my entire youth with and shared their experiences, had reached maturity and were about to disappear ( or so I thought) forever. I made sure that never happened. I still have massive posters and newspapers cut-outs of every possible photograph of Harry Potter/Daniel Radcliffe. Much to the dismay of my parents, I refused to throw them away even before I was leaving for college. Almost all of us who've seen or read Harry Potter, have waited eagerly for our Hogwarts letter too. But sadly, that was never going to happen. Yes, Harry Potter's story gave us many false hopes. I'd imagine my mothers' belan (rolling pin) was my wand, casting a spell on any object to make it float. Obviously, that never happened either. 

However, regardless of the possibility that one didn't truly grow up reading the books or watching the films, one can  still learn such a great deal about growing up from the pages of Harry Potter. No doubt, it is a story about good and evil, but it's also a coming-of-age story not very different from what we experience as kids and then teenagers and eventually as adults. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stumbled through the milestones of their teenage age life the same way we did — first crushes, first kisses, first fight between friends and to an extent jealousy. 

For the last 15 years or so, I have been watching them grow and develop into themselves. It was and will always be a priceless lesson for young readers like me — there is such a long way to go from those three characters, and it's not just about magic. There are innumerable  lessons covered up in their stories, fiction though it maybe and a considerable measure of those things gave all of us some inspiration and understanding into life.