Pick up your wands and get ready to cast some spells. Today, at Hogwarts, we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Harry Potter series coming to the United States!

Ever since I’ve read the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book of the series, my mind was taken to a magical world where the imagination exists as a reality. Filled with wands, students, mythical beings, and evil wizards, the essence of the world J.K. Rowling created cannot be summarized by a single word.

Although Harry Potter is currently the most sold book series around the globe and has brought in more than 25 billion dollars, according to Business Insider, the series signify much more than its monetary gains. The Harry Potter books success celebrates perseverance and the wonders of what a little imagination can do. Many Potterheads know that the road to success for Rowling was bumpy. Before becoming one of the most famous authors in the world, Rowling was a jobless single mother who relied on state benefits in order to live. However, she pushed through that difficult period in her life and wrote up a manuscript for Harry Potter. after finishing the first book, the author was rejected by every publisher she sent her work to. Nevertheless, she didn’t give up. As a matter of fact, she pinned her first rejection letter to the kitchen wall and used it as inspiration and motivation to work harder. Finally, in 1997, Bloomsbury, a publishing company, approved of Rowling’s work, and the manuscript became a published book.  

At first, no one expected a children’s novel to become mainstream. Yet, three days after releasing the book to the public, the Scholastic Corporation bid $100,000 for the series’ publishing rights. The rest is history. The Harry Potter franchise exploded in popularity, and people around the world lined up in front of stores to buy newly released books. Everyone, young and old, was excited to see what the next book would bring to the magical world.

Although the struggles for authors trying to publish their books, let alone reaching fame, is not unique to only Rowling, her story is important as it shows children across the globe that not giving up on a vision is imperative in obtaining one’s goal. Rowling’s success is also a demonstration of how powerful imagination can be. Creating an entire world with such detail can only be done with a mind that has no limits nor boundaries. Especially in today’s world, where imagination has been pushed to the margins by substantive achievements, stories like Harry Potter show that fantasy and achievements are not mutually exclusive; they are intricately intertwined. One cannot exist without the other.

The next time you run into problems that just can’t seem to be resolved, think outside the box and don’t give up. Return to your childhood imagination, and see the endless possibilities awaiting you.