Words are Magic

Like most kids of my generation, I grew up reading Harry Potter. The magic and mystery of every book inspired even those who didn’t love to read to pick up a book and join the students of Hogwarts on an incredible journey. When I was in elementary school, I loved to read. I was one of the only students who actually read the books I checked out from the library, and I constantly challenged myself to read books of higher difficulty than was expected of an eight-year-old. When middle school rolled around, I found myself frustrated as my friends passed me in reading speed and ability. I became discouraged, and the only books I would read on a regular basis were my Harry Potter books. While I loved the story, it was the characters that kept me interested. Many of the characters were more than just a name on a page. They came to life in our minds and in our hearts and impacted us more than the average character in a teen book series. In the second part of the seventh movie (unfortunately it’s not actually in the books, from what I remember), Dumbledore says something to Harry that has always stuck with me.

While standing in a train station at a point where Harry seems to be between life and death, Dumbledore says to Harry:
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic…”

This quote is why I decided to start a blog. Words have so much power. We live in a world dominated by the 10-second sound bite and 140 character news update. Sometimes that just isn’t enough. Sometimes thoughts need to be elaborated on to make a real impact or to draw meaningful conclusions. Dumbledore was right (as always), words are an inexhaustible source of magic, so why not make good use of them?