Here's How Harry Potter Actually Changed People's Lives
“Harry Potter gave me a friend when I felt like I had none.”
Warner Bros. / BuzzFeed
"I'm 28 now, and I didn’t get into Harry Potter when I was in school. I didn’t read much, so just thought I’d wait until the films came out, but the films came and went, and life got in the way.
"I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. It means I have variable and extreme emotions, and the slightest phrase that anyone utters without thinking can wound me deeply, and for a long time. The most frustrating thing was when people would tell me it was 'all in my head'. When I finally got around to reading the books, I loved them instantly and quickly made it to Deathly Hallows. There, I read my favourite quote from Dumbledore: 'Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?'
"That one line made me take on my life as my own. I now understand that although my mental health may be telling me things that aren’t real or making me feel things that I probably shouldn’t, it is real to me, and that’s what matters. J.K. Rowling probably saved my life with that line."
"I’m French and grew up in France, mostly without friends. I always loved reading, and when I was around 9 I discovered Harry Potter. I instantly loved it, obviously. I read the first three books on loop, then excitedly read the fourth when it came out. After that, I realised that it took months and months for the new books to get translated to French after they were published in English, and I found that unacceptable. My English was okay, but not great – I was, after all, 11 – so I decided to train myself. Given that I knew the first four books by heart, I figured that reading them repeatedly in English would help. I badgered my parents until they ordered the English versions off Amazon, and did just that.
"When Order of the Phoenix came out, I immediately ordered it in English, and realised that I mostly understood it. I continued to read the other books in English, and I eventually became fluent. By the time I was 16, and had to look at my university options, I decided to try and get into a university in London. I had rubbish grades at my baccalaureate but got 19/20 in English, which gave me an OK grade overall. I got an offer from a university in London, moved here, finished my degree, and got into journalism.
"Three years later, I’m writing this from the BuzzFeed office in London, which I’m confident would never have happened if it hadn’t been for Harry Potter."
– Marie Le Conte, BuzzFeed Media and Politics Reporter