MuggleNet

  • Home
  • Site
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Press
    • Internships
    • History
    • Year in Review
    • Special Projects
  • MuggleNet Family
    • Alohomora!
    • Beyond the Veil
    • Book Trolley
    • Fan Fiction
    • MuggleCast
    • Reading, Writing, Rowling
    • SpeakBeasty
  • J.K. Rowling
    • Biography & News
    • Timeline
    • Website History
    • Exclusive 2005 Interview
    • The Casual Vacancy
    • Cormoran Strike Series
    • Very Good Lives
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Series
    • Book Quotes
    • The Little Things
    • The Hogwarts Library
    • James & Sirius Prequel
    • Film Series
    • Film Companions
    • Music
    • Video Games
    • Coloring Books
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Film Series
    • Film Quotes
    • Film Companions
    • Music
    • Video Games
    • Coloring Books
  • The Quibbler
    • The Front Page
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Wizard’s Voice
    • Beyond the Veil
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Blogitorials
    • Event Reports
    • Interviews
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibition
    • Pottermore
    • Quidditch
    • Studio Tour
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
  • Fans and Fun
    • Fan Art
    • Fandom
    • Flash Games and Trivia
    • Fun Lists
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • #PotterItForward
    • Potter Weddings
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
MuggleNet
  • Home
  • Site
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Press
    • Internships
    • History
    • Year in Review
    • Special Projects
  • MuggleNet Family
    • Alohomora!
    • Beyond the Veil
    • Book Trolley
    • Fan Fiction
    • MuggleCast
    • Reading, Writing, Rowling
    • SpeakBeasty
  • J.K. Rowling
    • Biography & News
    • Timeline
    • Website History
    • Exclusive 2005 Interview
    • The Casual Vacancy
    • Cormoran Strike Series
    • Very Good Lives
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Series
    • Book Quotes
    • The Little Things
    • The Hogwarts Library
    • James & Sirius Prequel
    • Film Series
    • Film Companions
    • Music
    • Video Games
    • Coloring Books
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Film Series
    • Film Quotes
    • Film Companions
    • Music
    • Video Games
    • Coloring Books
  • The Quibbler
    • The Front Page
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Wizard’s Voice
    • Beyond the Veil
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Blogitorials
    • Event Reports
    • Interviews
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibition
    • Pottermore
    • Quidditch
    • Studio Tour
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
  • Fans and Fun
    • Fan Art
    • Fandom
    • Flash Games and Trivia
    • Fun Lists
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • #PotterItForward
    • Potter Weddings
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
  • Blogitorials / The Daily Prophet
  • 0

Confessions: “Harry Potter” Got Me Through High School

by Lila Riesen · Published May 31, 2018 · Updated October 22, 2018

I’m going to be incredibly vulnerable for a moment.

When I was in high school, I felt like a complete and utter outcast. Is this you too? I bet if you’re reading this, you might have had similar feelings growing up. There’s a reason why you’re here on this site, why you keep coming back to Harry Potter again and again.

Only after I became an adult did I realize that many kids feel this way – films like Mean Girls and 10 Things I Hate About You illustrate that the bullying that was happening in my high school is ubiquitous across the country and the globe. There are many students being bullied and shunted by their classmates for no particular reason at all. In fact, when Mean Girls came out when I was 14, I remember feeling worse about myself after watching the film; the pressure to “fit in” was even stronger. Even Cady got her happy ending: Where was mine? I often made a joke with my friends that we “survived our teenage years,” but there is something to be said in all of this. These integral years are in no way easy for anyone.

Harry Potter was an escape for me. I spent my lunch hours in the library reading and sneaking my stale peanut butter sandwich from my purse under the table (the cranky, old Madam Pince-esque librarian wouldn’t let us eat in there). It was better than the bathroom stall, which I admit served as a makeshift cafeteria more than once to get away from some of the nasty kids at my school. It wasn’t always the things they said or the rumors they spread; it was sometimes just their presence that would make me feel insecure and insignificant. I spent my study hall hours writing Harry Potter and Narnia fan fiction. I didn’t understand why my sister had hundreds of friends and I only had one or two. I thought something was wrong with me. I enjoyed reading and writing and spending time with my parents over venturing out to parties. My parents deemed me an “old soul.” My peers often didn’t see it that way.

 

Source

 

I spent many rainy afternoons at home looking out of the window and writing, first fan fiction and then my own stories. Writing and reading – that’s what got me through. It was rough, let me tell you, feeling like an outcast. But I kept telling myself: These three friends – Harry, Ron, and Hermione – love each other no matter what they look like, where they come from, or what their interests are.

 

Source

 

I didn’t need the cool new outfit from Hollister, the popular football player, or a certain shade of lipstick to feel worthwhile when I stepped into the magical and accepting world of Harry Potter.

I dreamed of traveling to England, falling in love with a Fred or George Weasley lookalike, and exploring the English countryside (I married a Swiss man and spent my postgraduate years looking at the Swiss Alps, so close enough).

 

Get a move on, Ron! (Source)

 

Harry Potter instilled in me something that many kids in similar situations lose: hope. It gave me hope for a better future. Sometimes it was hard to listen to my parents telling me that high school was only a small part of my life and would soon be over. To me, living it eight hours every day, it was my very immediate and painful life. Harry Potter made me laugh, cry, and dream. Without Harry Potter, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Yes, those emotional scars still burn, but the upside is that they serve as excellent writing fodder for future YA novels.

 

Source

 

For those of you still in the high school trenches feeling like teenage Lila did, have heart and be yourself. It is a very transient part of your life and it will get better. Have hope and always remember to “turn on the light.” And when those Facebook friend requests come in years later from said bullies (believe me, they will), simply hit delete.

So now I ask you: How has Harry Potter affected your life?

 

Source

Tags: happinessHarry PotterJ.K. RowlingMental Healthreadingschoolwriting

You may also like...

  • 0

    Will Newt Be Just Like Harry Going Through His Awkward Stage?

    November 23, 2015

     by MuggleNet · Published November 23, 2015 · Last modified July 12, 2016

  • 0

    The Fantastic Phantoms of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

    October 28, 2015

     by MuggleNet · Published October 28, 2015 · Last modified October 18, 2017

  • 3

    Why Quirrell Is the Smartest Death Eater

    July 5, 2017

     by Lindsay Docken · Published July 5, 2017 · Last modified November 19, 2017

Follow:

  • Next story J.K. Rowling Starts Work on “Fantastic Beasts” 3 Screenplay
  • Previous story A Word Against the Glorification of Villains in “Harry Potter”

Polls

Which OWL result do you think best suits "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald"?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Upcoming Events

  • Thu, Feb 21
    • Alan Rickman's birthday (RIP)
    • David Barron's birthday
    • Sitara Shah's birthday
  • Fri, Feb 22
    • Charlotte Skeoch's birthday
    • Julie Walters's birthday
  • Sat, Feb 23
    • Quibbler with Harry's interview is released
    • Kelly Macdonald's birthday
    • Educational Decree No. 27 is passed
  • Sun, Feb 24
    • Eduardo Lima's birthday
    • Second task of the Triwizard Tournament
    • Newt Scamander's birthday
  • Mon, Feb 25
    • Oliver Phelps's birthday
    • James Phelps's birthday
  • Tue, Feb 26
    • Rohan Gotobed's birthday

RSS Listen to Alohomora!

  • CoS 13 Revisit: Acting Like a Good Guy
  • Movie Adaptations: Making Movie Magic
  • HBP 17 Revisit: Rise Above Your Anguish

RSS Listen to SpeakBeasty!

  • Episode 80: How I Met Your Father
  • Episode 79: A Distinct Lack of Jumpers
  • Episode 78: Snigglywiggly
  • Episode 77: Make Hufflepuff Cool Again
  • Episode 76: Allow Me to Be Frank

More

Quotes

  • “Queen, honey. Well, I’m just curious, when were you going to wake me up? After we’d had five kids?”

#PotterHistory

  • July 31, 2011 – Registration for Pottermore beta testing begins.

Did You Know

  • More than 16,000 children in the United Kingdom and United States auditioned for the role of Harry Potter.

MuggleNet Archive

MuggleNet Mail

Username :
Password :
 Sign Up
 Forgot Password ?
 

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fansite. Please email us if you have any questions or concerns.
© 1999-2019 MuggleNet.com. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy | COPPA Policy | Terms of Use | Feedback | Credits