An epic journey and extraordinary adventure, full of lessons of love and friendship

is what the Harry Potter series is to me. I went to see Deathly Hallows part 2 for the 3rd time in the past week and a half tonight<33333 And by myself this time, for that matter (no one is this obsessed as I am... hehe). During the movie, I get so emotional, excited, and completely PUMPED up every time. I just love it so, sooo much. Even as a very little girl, I have always been an avid reader - starting with my Junie B. Jones & American Girl chapter books which I dearly loved (and still love!), and then at age seven, when I began reading the Harry Potter series. I have always been completely in love with Harry from the very beginning. One of my earliest childhood memories is writing Harry a love letter on top of my cousins bunk bed with my cousin Troy, who wrote his love letter to Hermione. Hehehe I love itt(: And then in 5th grade (which was when I turned 11) and I told EVERYONE in my class that I would indeed be attending Hogwarts instead of middle school and that I was only anxiously awaiting my owl of acceptance. That was the year Order of the Phoenix (the book) came out...it came out the summer before 5th grade, and my Aunt Debby and I woke up at 6 am to get the book and we waited outside the BX (Military base supermarket) until it opened and when they opened the BX gates, I ran as quickly as I could in front of EVERYONE else, and I was the first to grab the book from the fancy display they had set up!!! I was so excited -- that is the largest Harry Potter book, and I read it in exactly a week I remember - while Haley, Ryan, and the rest of my cousins were outside playing in the pool, I was inside reading because I just couldn't stop. Then that year in 5th grade, I did my book report on it in front of the class!! And then there was the year that I was Hermione for Halloween...I forget how old I was - it was in elementary school I'm pretty sure! My mom worked at Regency Cap and Gown (a choir robe company) and she got me a black "Hogwarts" robe, with a purple "H" engraved, to double stand for Hermione and Hogwarts! My older sister Bree did my hair, she used mousse to make it very bushy and course like Hermione's in the early movies. For my wand, we took the plastic stick-like thing on Haley's blinds that you can turn to make the shades open and close! Hehe and that was my wand. That was a good Halloween. Probably my favorite. One REALLY funny story is from 11th grade...it was my 17th birthday and I was at school, and I got to lunch super early before all of my friends for some reason. At the time I was in the middle of reading the Half Blood Prince (book 6) for the umpteenth time, and since I was early I sat down at the bench outside where we would sit and I sat out my lunch, and began to read! Well the part that I was at was none other than the scene of my beloved Dumbledore's death. I started uncontrollably crying as I always do (even though this was like my 5th time reading this book- gets me every time...) and people are walking by and telling me happy birthday, and I'm hiding my face to hide my tears and then everyone is rushing over to me asking me if I'm okay...and I'm like, Yes...Dumbledore just died! And I'm all devastated and they're all looking at me like I'm insane lol. Good memories;) Ah and I remember when "Deathly Hallows" the book came out in 2007... I remember reading it, and just crying my eyes out at practically every other page...especially in the last 100 pages. I was laying sprawled out on my twin bed in my room, for hours and hours alone in my room on end, and being so pumped up and full of emotion during the Battle at Hogwarts and all I wanted to do, ever, in that moment was to just jump inside the book and fight alongside them, fight with everything in me and with all of my passion. When Dobby died to save Harry's life, when Fred died and his adorable and heart melting interactions with Percy in the moments before his death, when Snape died and gave Harry his memories to view in the Pensieve...I was such a complete wreck. The way  J.K. Rowling articulated the end of the story in her novel Deathly Hallows (and how she writes every single one of the books for that matter!) is honestly so brilliant and beautiful, and no one compares to her ability to wield such an incredible story so elegantly and fill it with such extraordinary heart. I hope with all of my heart that she knows how completely wonderful she is! It would honestly be the most exhillarating pleasure to me to one day be able to tell her how thankful I am, for her gift of such an incredible story that I grew up with and have learned so many lessons from. Harry Potter is a huge part of me and has been since I was a little girl, and always will be. All 7 of the books have been read so many times by me, I have lost count...and I know as a fact that I will continue to read them and lose count even more in the future! I am so attached to every character...I love them all so much. The magic of Harry Potter is very real to me; it lives in my heart forever.

SO.EXCITED.!!!

It was just announced that Emma Watson will be playing Belle in a new dark remake of Beauty and the Beast!!!!!! I am so incredibly excited - if you cannot already tell - for it is my two favorite things in one, Disney and Harry Potter! It's so funny because for my 6th grade summer reading, instead of choosing one book I had chosen three books that I read, and one of them was a book called "Beauty", a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast that I was so enthralled and in love with! And of course as everyone knows I have been obsessed with Harry Potter since I was seven years old, and now two beloved books from my childhood are kind of coming together, with Emma (Hermione) playing Belle! Belle fits Emma perfectly - a beautiful girl, but practical and very smart -which is Emma's personality to a tee. I looked it up and the director of the Lord of the Rings movies will be the director of this movie, which is incredible! This means that it will be whimsical and realistic (and completely awesome) and not another dumb teen movie like every other remake of disney movies. I read that this movie will be much darker and different than the Disney version but I know it will be great. I absolutely cannot waiiit!

It is hilarious because my friend had sent me this the other day (way before Emma's new movie was announced) because of my obsessions with Harry Potter and The Little Mermaid and how amazing, funny and perfect it is that whoever had made this put Harry and Ariel (in other words, Harry and I, hehe) together. And now looking back on it they had put Hermione and Ron as Beauty and the Beast! Even all of the characters of both films match up, so crazy <33