In an age where most people, especially teens, would rather sit in front of a TV or computer screen than read, anticipation for a book release is a rare occasion. But on July 21, mile-long lines will form outside bookstores worldwide, as the fate of Harry Potter is finally revealed.
On March 28, for the last time, Scholastic Inc. released the cover for a Harry Potter book. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling's seventh and final installment of the series, will be released this summer. For our generation, the arrival of this novel will truly mark the end of an era.
Like bookends, this series has framed a significant period of my life. When the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, came out in the summer of 1997, I had just finished the third grade. Now, as my freshman year of college comes to a close, I can't help but marvel at how fast the time went by and at how much things have changed.
I approached book one like any other novel. But by the time books five and six came along, I was also listening to them on tape, and watching the events unfold on a movie screen.
I have always been a voracious reader. Whenever a Harry Potter book came out, I would devour every last one of the 1000-plus pages in less than 36 hours. As if in a race with time, I would do nothing but read. I always had to have my own copy, since waiting for my siblings to finish the book was not an option.
But these days, even a 50-page reading assignment seems daunting, and with all of my homework, reading for pleasure is out of the question.
It used to be a special occasion to stay up until midnight to pick up my reserved copy of Harry Potter at Borders. Now I'm lucky to be in bed by 1:30 a.m. on a weeknight.
Part of the allure of Harry Potter comes from its rich details that create an elaborate universe we all wish could be real.
Why choose a school with a 15.9 percent admissions rate like Penn, when you could go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? One Penn student created a Facebook group based on this same idea.
But if you really think about it, aside from a few minor differences, maybe Penn isn't so different from Hogwarts after all.
In terms of physical appearance, the Quad, with its prominent towers and medieval-style gates, comes pretty close to the image of Hogwarts I have in my mind, minus the surrounding water and moving staircases.
During NSO, the bookstore looked like Diagon Alley, with crowds of students scurrying around to buy posters and other necessary school supplies.
Both wizards and muggles alike have to register for courses, whether it's for economics or transfiguration. And all freshmen are placed, or sorted, into college houses, though at Penn it is done by the housing office instead of a sorting hat.
Just like Harry's fate brought him to Gryffindor, maybe Hill was my destiny.
Hermione would make the ultimate, ambitious Penn student, with her ability to be in two places at once. Taking ten classes or having to get from Leidy Lab to DRL in ten minutes time would be no problem for her.
Sure, the mail rooms here aren't as efficient as a magic fleet of owls, and swiping your PennCard isn't as fun as having to say a password to a talking painting. But replace broomsticks with bicycles, quidditch with soccer and Dumbledore with Amy Gutmann, and you've got Penn.
Like our generation's Star Trek, Harry Potter has become fully integrated into popular culture, with a religious following. It wouldn't surprise me if there were more Americans who could explain the "expelliarmus" spell than could name the vice president.
Just like us, Harry, Hermione and Ron have experienced the ups and downs of adolescence. They have felt insecure, experienced crushes and survived the awkwardness of teenage life. If it seems like they've grown up quickly in these past ten years, then we must have as well.
Mugglenet.com, a Web site for hard-core HP fans, is counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the book appears on shelves worldwide. While I can't wait to soak up the next adventure, for me the ending will be bittersweet.
Saying farewell to the famous bespectacled wizard parallels our own growing pains and echoes our own goodbyes to this stage of our lives.
I know I will miss the escape from real-world pressures Harry and his friends provide. After all, who couldn't use a little magic every once in awhile?
Rachel Weisel is a College freshman from Chesterfield, Missouri. Her e-mail address is weisel@dailypennsylvanian.com. Writes of Passage appears on Fridays.
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