What book has best influenced your life and why? by Mabel

What book has best influenced your life and why? by Mabel - May 2017 Scholarship Essay

With every college acceptance letter that has come in the mail for me this year, I have still opened each one crestfallen, after having realized that it is not, in fact, my letter inviting me to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For me, the Harry Potter series not only transformed my lack of skill pertaining to reading, but also ignited a passion for reading, writing, and literature, that has blossomed and been carefully crafted into a skill that helps define the person I am today. Not only has the series enriched my life academically from the time I was very young, but they have influenced my life in such a way that has helped me to overcome hardships that I would not have been able to accomplish on my own, without them.
When I was eight years old, I realized, that it only takes one book, with its musty scent and crisp, white, pages, one chapter after the next, to transport the mind of a child, (me) to a world that isn’t their own; an escape from reality to somewhere wonderful whenever one’ pleases. Although Harry Potter is full of magic and mythological creatures that delight the imaginative minds of children, it has a way of continuing to appeal to a young adult audience due to the series’ deep, underlying theme of overcoming trials in one’s lifetime, especially coping with death and loss of loved ones. Therefore, as I read the series throughout the duration of my childhood, I was able to “escape” by delighting in the literal “magic” world of Harry Potter, pertaining to things such as spells, potions, and obtaining odd creatures as pets. This, however, changed as I grew older and began to appreciate the way that Harry coped with being neglected and abused in his childhood home, how he dealt with being bullied in school, how he handled his depression after having lost his parents and dear friends, and the deep bond of friendship he shared with Ron and Hermione.
Even now, at seventeen years old, the Harry Potter series are my escape from reality, my source of adventure, and they have had a profound influence on how I’ve dealt with trials that have I had been presented with later in life. I’ll never forget the feelings that I had after I finished reading the series, a mixture of deep sadness, joy, and satisfaction. The Harry Potter series gave me strength as I was gradually presented with my own trials, and influenced me to be who I am wherever I am, and to never be ashamed of the unique qualities I posses. When I was a little girl being homeschooled on a farm in rural Maine, I was desperate to become Hermione Granger. I worked diligently in my studies to achieve what I believed her status of intellect would be. When I made the decision to attend public school by enrolling as a freshman at Bonny Eagle High school, I quickly learned, that while academically I strove for Hermione Granger, socially I was Harry Potter before he attended Hogwarts. I was severely bullied, and spent the first half of my freshman year until my very last term battling depression with but a handful of friends, and only one true friend. My one saving grace, however, were my musical talents, and after I performed at my school’s local talent show, I then adopted Harry Potter’s status at Hogwarts as, “school celebrity” for a time. The example that the Harry Potter series set for me during these two very conflicting experiences throughout all four years of High School, helped me to push my way through with grace, keeping my “real” friends close by, and kindly acknowledging those that only admired me for my musical gifts.
Through the influence of these precious characters in the Harry Potter series, I have not only been able to face my trials with courage, but also find myself emotionally, socially, and even academically, by their example, by striving to posses a little of Ron’s humor, Harry’s humility, and Hermione’s academic achievement in my real world, as opposed to their fictional, Wizarding, world. I will never stop half-hoping, along with many other Harry Potter fans I’m sure, that a letter addressed to me will arrive by owl-post inviting me to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Due to the profound influence that J.K Rowling’s magical world that she created has had upon my life, you better believe I would drop everything to make it to platform 9/3 quarters, and catch the train to Hogwarts.