Happy Birthday, J. K. Rowling! — How One Woman Changed My Life
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Happy birthday, J.K. Rowling![/caption]
Words may not be enough to express how much of an impact Harry Potter has had on my life. Like many others of my generation, I grew up with the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. I read the first book at ten, and followed Harry’s life in the Wizarding World for years afterward. The final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out just after I turned eighteen; I waited in line for my copy at the midnight release party at my local Borders, took it straight home, and stayed up all night to read it. I still pride myself on finishing that entire book in less than eight hours.
Not only did I immerse myself in the written version of Harry’s world, I made it to every movie in the theater. My family developed a tradition of reading the books, then going to see the movies together to compare thoughts. What did the movie do differently than the book? Is this one still our favorite? Do we hate that character, or what?
My mom, brother, aunt, uncle, and grandmother turned this book series, and (let’s face it) cultural phenomenon into a bonding experience — part of our family history. We bought the Harry Potter Scene-It games and the Harry Potter Trivia games as well (my personal favorite).
To emphasize just how much we still love Harry Potter, I will let you in on a little secret. We’re having a Harry Potter Party this month before my brother goes back to university, complete with HP recipes, decorations, and (of course) trivia. It will be our first in years, and it’s set to be the best ever.
Because of how very close this series is to my heart, out of nostalgia and nerdiness, I sometimes take time to think of J. K. Rowling. She is one of the most famous authors of our time, and certainly one of the best-selling. How amazing it is that such a huge and complex universe can come out of one person’s brain!
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.”
- J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Joanne Rowling (also known as J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith to readers) was born on July 31, 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. Last week, she celebrated her fiftieth birthday. Her life, largely represented as a “rags-to-riches” story, has been said to have inspired the characters of the Harry Potter universe. For example, she based Hermione’s character (at the start of HP) off her own personality at eleven. The soul-sucking Dementors came out of her own struggle with clinical depression, and Professors Severus Snape, Firenze, and Dolores Umbrige (who I think we all hate more than Tom Riddle himself) were based on Rowling’s school teachers.
I don’t want to speculate about someone else’s personal life, especially someone who I will never even meet. But I will say that whatever your struggles may have been, Jo… they turned you into a brilliant writer, whose imagination has truly been a blessing to the world.
Happy Belated Birthday, Joanne Rowling!
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