"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~Albus Dumbledore

I am an avid Harry Potter fan.  My mom started reading them to me aloud when I was in second grade and I became immediately and irrevocably obsessed.  Since the beginning of my relationship with the Harry Potter series, I have read each book more than ten times (that is not an exaggeration) and the pages are so dog-eared and ripped that I need to read some of the books sitting at a desk so they don't fall apart.  I have taken every Sorting Hat quiz known to man (I am proud to say that I am a Gryffindor) and I know the secret Butterbeer recipe at Starbucks by heart.

All seven Harry Potter books are intricately thought-out, incredibly multi-dimensional, and amazingly realistic, which makes them the perfect read for anyone wishing to escape into a fantasy world for a few hours.  I was actually slightly disappointed that I didn't receive a letter when I was eleven inviting me to hop on Platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross Station to begin my education at Hogwarts.

I will be forever grateful, however, to J.K. Rowling for giving the world the gift of Harry Potter.  Not only does the series provide a welcome distraction from the real world, the books also introduce dynamic characters that offer insightful advice and words of wisdom that are applicable to any Muggle's (non-wizarding folk's) life.  The words of Professor Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin, First Class, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Grand Sorcerer--I'm sorry, I couldn't resist) always prove to be extremely wise.  He said in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Apart from our surface-level talents, everyone also has the ability to be kind, to be hard-working, and to be optimistic.  I believe that people are inherently good.  We all have the abilities inside us to be exemplary people, but we have to consciously choose to use our abilities (like kindness, perseverance, and optimism) to prove our worth.

When Harry donned the Sorting Hat on his first day at Hogwarts to be sorted into a House, he persistently implored, "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin."  He did not want to be associated with the House that produced the darkest Wizards in all of history.  He later finds out that the Hat thought he had all the qualifications and abilities to be in Slytherin, yet it placed him in Gryffindor because his choice defined his true character.

Although I acknowledge that the Harry Potter novels are complete fiction, I am not ashamed to say that many of the most important lessons I have ever learned have come from the dog-eared pages of the most beloved seven books on my shelf.  Because of Albus Dumbledore, I learned that every minuscule choice in life displays a different aspect of our identity.  Whether we notice it or not, our choices automatically expose our true characters to the world.

So,

Choose wisely.