Preview

Harry Potter Common App Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
481 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Harry Potter Common App Essay
I read my first Harry Potter book when I was 7 years old. The first two movies had been released at that point and everyone was encouraging me to read the books that had inspired them. At the school book fair, my dad bought me Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – I wanted to start with that one because that was the movie I liked best. By the end of the third grade, I had finished the first five books and I was a bona fide Potterhead.
Children are very impressionable; Alfons Heck once described them as being ‘empty vessels.’ Because I started reading the series at such an early age, Harry Potter has had an enormous impact on the person I am today. Nearly all of my beliefs and morals are variations of themes found within the books: love conquers all, good will always triumph over evil, and do the right thing above all else. These themes dictate how I live my life. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and many of the other characters in the series have all taught me what it means to be a decent person.
The world is changing, but vestiges of old-fashioned ideas still remain. Even today, some consider a woman to be incomplete unless she is in a relationship. Too many of today’s young females buy into that stereotype, but I am sincerely glad to say that I am not one of them. Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger will always be the best role models I could ask for. Both are strong, independent, brave, and clever. Both understand the value of being able to stand on your own: they have never needed a man to be happy with themselves. Their example is possibly the most valuable thing I have drawn from reading this incredible series – they have shown me that all a girl really needs is to be happy with herself and the rest will follow.
My morals and values are very essential to who I am. I refuse to compromise on what’s important to me, and I won’t change who I am or what I believe just to appease other people. Throughout all seven Harry Potter books, the main

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    I remember kids didn’t really like reading much so they didn’t read much. As they got older some of them started to read more. I have read many books over the years but last year I read a book that I loved.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Moral development is a process in which a child goes through up until their late teens early 20’s. This process is where the child develops the understanding of how people should treat each other. The development changes as the child gets older going through various stages where different morality levels are in place. This essay will look at moral development and relate it to the well-known film series of Harry Potter. Harry potter is a series about a young orphaned boy named Harry who lives with his wicked aunt and uncle. At 11 years old he finds out he’s a wizard and goes…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Stone Soup

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages

    According to BJ Epstein, Senior Lecturer in Literature and Public Engagement at the University of West Anglia, “books can serve as a first introduction to the outside world” (Epstein, 2017). In other words, exposing children to different genres of books helps expand their horizon by introducing them to different types of characters that reflect today’s society. So, literature plays an important role in providing children with the knowledge they need to be successful in the real world.…

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The well-known author JK Rowling has used her best selling novel Harry Potter not only to entertain but also to convey her points of view on current social issues such as technology. Technology has been something that everyone has come to rely throughout the time, and has helped us gain knowledge through the utilization of tools, techniques and systems that make it easier to use, create, manage and exchange information. Our society could not be imagined without new technologies and their role both in this society and in human life in general.…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Through the expression of literature within the elementary school classroom, young children can become exposed to endless lesson’s regarding life and growing. “Realistic” stories have been criticized for being dull, too complex, and psychologically empty. For example, it is practically impossible to find any meaning within literature such as “See Dick. See Jane.” Nonetheless, fantasy restores this meaning within the reading process. As expressed by Bruno Bettelheim, author of The Uses of Enchantment, fantasy allows children to identify with heroes who ultimately win, offering confidence to believe that negative aspects in one’s life can be successfully dealt with. The Wizard of Oz is a leading example of this perception. Thus, in my opinion, a child might be comforted and experience growth and awareness through the viewing of fantasy stories like The Wizard of Oz due to the journey of the protagonist, character polarities, and the profound meaning of the fable itself.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Plus I soon found out all about the different types of books out there from romance all the way to fantasy. I remember our teachers would sometimes let us choose our own books to read, and one of my favorites was goosebumps. There was just something about those books that were very entertaining to read. The goosebumps novels pretty much focus on mysteries plus as you read the book there is a section in there to see how the end will play out and there is like 2 or 3 different ending that you can choose from depending on your mood, or you can just see how all 3 will end. I also got to say before I forget I was also into the harry potter novels. I think the harry potter novels are like 200-300 pages maybe more? But they were so good to read and then the movies for them came out. But the books are always so much better than the movies, most of the time in the movies they leave out all the good details that are in the…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I think I wrote some words and then started tor read in the end of first grade. I don’t remember exactly. As I said, when I started school I didn’t know anything about reading or writing but I was fascinated with the idea of learning.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They never asked me what do I want to read about or what I want to learn about until my 7th grade year when we had to read a book, take a test on it, and then write a book report on it. When I was listening to my teacher describe the assignment I was waiting for the circumstances. Then she said anything we want to read and do a book report on. I was dumbfounded when I went to the library because I had no idea on where to start. So I just started going to random areas of the library and seeing anything that just popped out at me and begged me to read it. Finally one did, and to this day still my favorite book I have ever read, “Iron Marshall” by Louis L’Amour. I fell in love with this book. I read it every night before I went to sleep and every day during school when I had down time during class. What drew me in was that there was action in every chapter and the story was in such good detail. I now know the saying that the book is better than the movie. And it is all because of “Iron Marshall”. After reading that book I had to see what else Louis L’Amour had because of how much I fell in love with the first one. Oh he did and to my surprise I can’t pick a favorite one! I read every single book he had in the library by the end of my sophomore year in high…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rowling’s books and novels have deeply impacted readers of all ages, young and old, religious or not. Readers all around the world have been inspired by the books and have encouraged them to achieve their goals despite the struggles they’ll face in their…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The first books I ever started reading were Winnie the Pooh and Dr Suess books. When I was young my parents were really good about getting me started with reading different books and for a long time I loved reading, as long as it was books I got to choose and enjoyed reading myself. Once I got further along in school and they started mandating what books we had to read I got to the point where I didn’t find reading enjoyable any longer. I didn’t like most of the books my teachers were picking for us to read so I felt like I had to force myself to read them and it caused me to even stop reading books outside of school…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Harry Potter Banned?

    • 1723 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Everyone loves to sit down and read a good book that really makes you get into it. What about a type of literature that really makes you wonder and is not realistic but fun to read about because it is different. Then maybe you should read the book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which was written by a talented writer named J.K. Rowling. This is an amazing book that is very popular, but then at the same time very disliked by some also. Witchcraft and other mythical actions happen upon this novel and can capture your mind in the first chapter. It can capture children and adults alike; this is not just a book for children. Some adults think otherwise though because many of them have been trying to ban Harry Potter books from public schools. Many adults that think this have caused a great amount of arguments between the school districts and community. A vast amount of parents say it is evil and inappropriate to read to students accounting that they may believe in bad beliefs from now on. Harry Potter should not be banned from public schools because you have your own rights, it is your belief with different views, and you can’t control the whole public school.…

    • 1723 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Harry Potter series is unlike any other story of any book out there, it’s so special and unique because of the way it draws you inside of the story and just absolutely takes you away to a whole different world, it’s quite captivating. The book is so enthralling because it takes you into a realm of flying cars, talking animals, GIANT spiders, wicked spells and much more. As you progress throughout the series you meet tons of amazing characters and read about these characters mastering the hardest spells and conquering the most difficult tasks. These characters are the addiction of the reader, you become entranced in their life and you can step in to their shoes, experience what they experience, and relate to the common world problems of your everyday life. Just because they can shoot spells from their magic wands doesn’t mean they aren’t human. They have common teenage problems such as bullies,…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Common App Essay

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Outstanding American author Marya Hornbacher stated in her book, Madness: A Bipolar Life that “When you are mad, mad like this, you don't know it. Reality is what you see. When what you see shifts, departing from anyone else's reality, it's still reality to you.” In my short seventeen years of life, I have experienced the “mad” feeling Hornbacher describes. I have faced a rougher side of life and survived. To date, I have overcome depression and anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I am continually growing and learning. I accept that each day is a new day with new experiences. I have high expectations for my life. Success will be the new reality I choose to see. Before medication, before therapy, before everything, I was miserable. Sadness filled my world with faded shades of blue and grey. At times, there were moments of sparkling white that brought happiness into my soul. I obsessed over my schoolwork, so I could maintain as much control as possible. I was always pushed; pushed by my peers, pushed by my family, but mostly pushed by myself. To my peers, I was a loser. But they did not know me. To my teachers, I was a girl with potential. But they did not know me, either. I took solace in the routine of school and found my identity as a student. Focusing on my schoolwork helped me get by, but I needed more to begin to heal from my past and flourish. From the abusive experiences of my childhood, my distorted reality reminded me daily of why I had to move away, optimistically, from the hurt. In seventh grade, I went to a CRISIS Center to deal with the issues that were tormenting me and that hospitalization started my recovery. My healing began with the help of those caring professionals I encountered. Their impact on me helped me find strength to deal with my traumatic experiences. Every day they persuaded me to continue on, attend each group and smile a little more. When I left, everything began to work out for me. I began…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The series, “Harry Potter”, penned by British author J.K. Rowling, offers more than just a quick read for young and old readers alike, it now has become part of American culture. Created in 1997, with new releases in the seven book series every couple years, its intrigue with American culture has lasted 14 years. It has reached across many media types, making it available to large groups of people in different genres. Though this series has been touched by controversy, bringing up issues of religion, witchcraft, occult practices, and not being appropriate for children, it has not stopped individuals from purchasing the novels. Headlines from The New York Times said it was the fastest selling book in history (2007). When a new book in the series gets released, individuals will wait in lines for hours to receive their treasured copies. It is also not uncommon for readers, and fans to stand in line at all hours of the night to view a movie that is being released. Readers might find themselves attending parties held in the books name, dressing up as characters from the book, even serving food mentioned by the author in her literary works. The influence of Harry Potter goes well beyond just reading for simple enjoyment. The lessons in the books are life lessons most can relate to, which may be why readers seem to stay interested. A simple keyword search on the internet of “Harry Potter” will for tell just how engrained in our culture this book is. You will find everything from the books themselves, to party favors, to numerous websites devoted to the phenomenon, Harry Potter.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The series also gave me common ground with people worldwide, and helped create relationships that would not have happened without its influence. It also created a media platform for other publications like Twilight, and The Hunger Games to follow and further inject society with different types of media. It changed how I view media and opened me up to a world of different fandoms, which I follow on my social media accounts. Without Harry Potter I would be a very different person because of great of an influence it has had on my…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays