Maria answered the question, “How has wizard rock changed your life?”

Life has always gotten a laugh out of throwing me constant, unavoidable curve balls.
You wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it, and things that shouldn’t have happened… have.
They always do.
Life always has a way of hitting you like a Bludger to the head, and trust me, the results can be less than favorable.
But if you have something to get you through it; something to pull you up when you’ve fallen off your broom and say, ‘Man, no one saw THAT one coming!’, then maybe you’re not as bad off as you think you are.

I’m not one to write about myself.
There, honestly, isn’t much to say.
Simply living for almost nineteen years isn’t much, nor is it very impressive.
But what’s gotten me here is impressive. In fact, it may be more than that. Miraculous, if you will.

Growing up as an adopted child, I always thought that I wasn’t wanted.
A Silly thing, I’m sure, to those of you who have not been there, but very hard to look at if you HAVE.
My feelings of uselessness towards myself only multiplied as I got older.
Sure, I was funny and rambunctious some of the time.
But most of the time, I kept my head down.
When the Harry Potter novels came out, it wasn’t hard to understand where he was coming from.
We were the same age, and we both felt alone.

As I got older, I became more boisterous when, really, things in my life were far from fun.
My oldest brother, the most important person in my life, was using drugs.
Using Heroin and Cocaine, he was hardly the role model I saw him as, and although I looked up to him, it was hard to deny what I saw.
He was stealing money from the house, family heirlooms were ‘disappearing’ , my mom was constantly crying, and he would leave for months at a time.
My family was falling apart, and every action had a reaction.
In response to my brother Aldo, my older sister Rita became a raving alcoholic.
I took solace in Harry Potter’s world so as to escape mine, but it never seemed to work.

When I came upon Wizard rock, my life was in shambles.
I couldn’t trust, couldn’t deal with anything in my life, and could barely cope with myself.
Somehow, I blamed myself.
My brother was recovering from his drug abuse, but my sister Rita was only getting worse.
And I hated myself and the life I lead for being unable to help her.

Then… BAM.
I literally stumbled upon the Remus Lupins on Myspace.
I was curious.
Remus Lupin was my favorite Harry Potter character, so I decided to give the band a chance.

The music I heard enthralled, yet confused me.
At first, I had no idea that Wizard Rock even existed, but here it was, plain as day.
The Music of the Remus Lupins made the actual Remus Lupin real to me.
Not only could I listen to really awesome music, but I could do it as if it was with everyone’s favorite lycanthrope.

After the Remus Lupins, I branched out.
I felt good when I listened to the music.
Ministry of Magic, The Whomping Willows, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls, Draco and the Malfoys… It all made me feel better about being myself.
It helped me accept myself for the first time in a very long time.
You can’t be down when listening to ‘Accio Love.’
You can’t stop from laughing at ‘Potions Yesterday.’
Wizard rock gives you a chance to listen to people that love Harry as much as you do.
It gives you a chance to be happy, or escape your every day life.

It may sound ridiculous to most, saying that Wizard rock saved my life, but its true in a way.
Wizard rock saved my personality.
It has kept me sane and happy, and I’ve grown to like myself because of how happy I am.
I AM needed, I AM loved, and I AM a ridiculously rare breed of Gryffindor.

After months of addictive wizard rock, I was able to talk to my sister about her drinking problem with Gryffindor courage I didn’t know I had.
Shes started to understand where I’m coming from, and I have wizard rock to thank for everything it has given me. The Remus Lupins is still my favorite Wizard rock band. 🙂

Wizard rock saves lives.
Wizard rock saves souls.
Wizard rock saved me.
And I would not be the Gryffindor I am today if wizard rock didn’t exist.

Wizard rock has changed my life by saving it.