To say that Harry Potter was my childhood would not be an understatement or an exaggeration out of emotional attachment, what-so-ever. If you were to get a clear picture of Lil T, you’d have to examine long afternoons of running around in Gryffindor robes, or rolled up bed sheets, shooting spells out of the backs of old paint brushes. You’d have to look at my group of friends in elementary school, on the playground in our patch of grass pretending to be at Hogwarts. You’d have to look at a lonely girl in Middle School, who spent her class periods reading Goblet of Fire from her lap at her desk.

In a big way, the Harry Potter series changed my life. The books taught me unconditional love, bravery, loyalty, to look beyond what you can see. To never trust what you believe about anyone, because people can always surprise you. to never give up, even in the face of the greatest adversity.

When I was in high school, my life changed. I lost my home, my family, and a lot of my heart to ache and depression. But through all of it, I had this wonderful book series. And when I turned each page I felt stronger, happier, better. Now, living on my own at 18 years old, there’s no one in this world I relate to better than Harry himself. My struggles are not as great, my mission is not as fantastical—but I am facing the adversity of my own life, and I am conquering it thanks to the lessons that I learned from reading the Harry Potter series.

My childhood may be over, and with this last film, I know that Harry Potter will not be continuing in the present. But it will always live on in my heart, and I will always cherish it as I cherish any of my memories, even when I am old and gray. This series means the world to me, and that is all I have to say on the subject.

“Always.”