"I lost my childhood to Draco Malfoy"

Due to my excessive status updates on Facebook, constant countdown, and two posts in a row about it, everyone probably gets that I saw the Harry Potter movie last night. But I'm not writing to review the movie or anything; not only am I horrible at writing reviews and feel a little unqualified to do so, but my mind has officially been BLOWN by this movie and I feel as though I should save any and all discussion of the movie until I'm able to speak.

Anyway, watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows reawakened my passion for the series - I must have read the series about six times in total (in completely different order each time, of course) and, as odd as it sounds, the series brings me endearing complacency in a way that almost nothing else can. Perhaps it's my familiarity with the characters? I understand that Harry's always going to be the one who makes me say, "GOD, DON'T DO THAT; ARE YOU RETARDED?" and Ron's always going to be the under-appreciated sidekick with awkward tendencies, and Hermione will forever be the bushy-haired genius. Of course, it goes a lot deeper than that, and that's kind of the point: I know this trio better than I know some of my friends. And I find the deepest sense of comfort in reading their stories.

You could say Star Wars has about the same concept. This summer, my boyfriend took me to the Star Wars convention in Orlando, Florida (true story!), and I witnessed many, many enthusiasts who seemed to almost dedicate more of their lives to the epic saga than George Lucas himself. This story is the childhood, and perhaps even the lifestyle, of many.

I'm including the Twilight series too, only to refute the fact that this series can live up to either Harry Potter or Star Wars. It just doesn't hold the same value, and I'm not just some kid hating on Twilight because I think the Edward Cullen/Rob Pattison hype is a bit superfluous. I've read the series, at first out of curiosity, and later, because of my intensely obnoxious need to finish everything I start. The series hasn't built itself that following. It's not become a lifestyle in the way that Harry Potter and Star Wars have, sorry.

ANYWAY, this isn't really a post dealing with keeping calm or relieving stress, sorry. I'm trying to deal with the stress myself. I'm still out there lookin' for ideas though, so please keep checking in! Also, I sincerely apologize for my long-winded and pretty much unnecessary rant.

Keep calm,
Sarah