By Daniel Roth

“This boy will be famous. There won’t be a child in our world who doesn’t know his name.” When Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling put these words in Professor McGonagall’s mouth, she would have had no idea that they would not only be true in the wizarding world, but in that of the lowly muggle, as well.

Finding Harry Potter on Facebook would only result in the realization that the number of mutual friends you two share would actually equal the number of your entire friends list. I doubt you could find many people that wouldn’t be able to at least call Harry Potter a mere acquaintance of theirs, if not a close friend. Not many have even come close to being able to impact our generation the way Harry has.

Perhaps the biggest role that “The Boy Who Lived” has played in our lives was simply growing and learning alongside us. As we dealt with the anger and complete frustration of a “grown up’s” inability to understand us, so did Harry. As we walked through unknown doors of social confusion with no sense of direction, Harry was there, taking those very same steps.

As we grew with Harry, we also watched in awe at all he had at his fingertips. Flying broomsticks, invisibility cloaks and even a living chessboard are toys we only dreamed of having as children. To Harry, they were a reality. So, just as we related to Harry, we were also completely enthralled with all he could achieve.

The world, which he would ultimately save, was a playground for each of our imaginations. We placed ourselves in the shoes of one of his classmates and played the “what if?” game. But we also learned from Harry. He inspired us to keep pursuing our goals when circumstances appeared to be hopeless, taught us what it truly meant to be a friend and showed us that love defeats all.

With all sappiness aside, however, when one is looking back on an entire generation, subjects that have been the most consistent tend to stick out more than others. Whether or not you take interest in the adventures of “The Chosen One,” there is no question that he has been apparent in the most crucial years of self-discovery throughout all of our lives.

Daniel Roth is a sophomore majoring in telecommunication and film.