When I was in fourth grade, my teacher, Mrs. Sperillbaum, asked how I read books so fast, and my answer was simple: “Just don’t have any friends to talk to.”
To a teacher, this may have been a shocking statement, but for me, it was just the way it was. I had no intention of chasing around boys in camouflage with the other girls, and this gave me a lot of free time to myself.
At recess, I would sit down under a nice shady tree in my sparkly pink boa and pull out a book from my favorite series, J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter.”
The instant I opened the cover, I was taken away from the mud and cornfields and whisked into a magical world with no limits. Harry Potter was able to help unique and anxious children finally find some confidence and a home.
The stories that Rowling wrote made me feel a little less alone, but they also gave me the confidence to make some friends.
My time in elementary school was a bit melancholy, but eventually I went to middle school and met my best friend, simply because she was wearing a Harry Potter t-shirt. It may sound silly, but knowing that someone else read the same books that I did gave me the strength to approach them.
Since then, I try to imagine that even the scariest of people probably have some nerdy guilty pleasure, and that gives me something in common with them.
Through that smidgen of confidence, I actually made lots of friends I never would have expected to make. Apparently, lots of kids watched the “Harry Potter” movies, but they were never ready for my advanced knowledge. Still, I was less lonely, and that was an improvement.
All was well until I got diagnosed with depression. For six months, I suffered internally and had no drive to get out of bed. My therapist suggested that I branch out a bit, since I lost connections to many of my friends. For some reason, my mind was convincing me that they all hated me.
I decided to set up an Instagram account about my favorite thing in the world, and that was Harry Potter. This was the dorkiest fan page known to man, but it ended up being the best thing I possessed.
Through that fan account, I met a German girl named Kathi, and we became the best of friends instantly. She was exactly the same person as me! We both loved Harry Potter, vintage style and celebrities that we had no chance of ever meeting.
Through FaceTime and texting, she pulled me out of depression and brought me back to life. We have met three times in person in three different countries, and she is the light of my life. Simply because of my geekiness, I have a new sister.
Although my life is a great example about how to make friends through Harry Potter, I also know that others have had the same sort of experiences.
Many of my current friends were social disasters until they found fandoms. It doesn’t have to be Harry Potter. It can be anything that transports you into a new and better world full of wonderfully dorky people.
I find that fandoms are full of the most diverse and accepting individuals that find sanctuary in the ink and pages of a good book.
Harry Potter was my best friend when I was a child, and he turned out to be a great connection!
The magical world gave me the strength to struggle through my own world, and that is precisely what I needed.
This January, my parents are taking me to Universal Studios to see Hogwarts for my graduation present. I think this is very symbolic, going to the castle after all the unfortunate schooling is over.
Just the belief that Hogwarts was out there somewhere soothed my anxious mind. Finally, at the end of an era, I can return to the place that pulled me through it.
