The Book I'm Most Thankful For (and the "why" you weren't expecting)

The book I'm most thankful for is Harry Potter. Now, it's probably not for the reasons you're thinking. It didn't introduce me to YA because I've always been reading YA (well, ever since I graduated from MG, but I'm not sure when that was :P). It wasn't my best friend growing up as all the books were banned from my house. No, the reasons I'm thankful for this book is another reasons entirely. Obviously these books were always around, but they really came into my life when I started dating my fiance. It was a time when I was struggling to find myself without even knowing it. I was always pretty happy with who I was, but I didn't realize that a lot of my beliefs and ways of thinking were simply inherited from my mom. When I started reading The Sorcerer's Stone and I was once again told I "wasn't allowed to read those books" (this was at 17, mind you) I realized that I was my own person and I needed to start stepping up for what I believed in. These books helped me learn to stand on my own two feet and I'm eternally grateful for that.

Now the reason for this oh so random post:
Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, is hosting an absolutely HUGE contest. Seriously, guys, this contest is amazing. You can find the details here: Awesome Contest
And now I shall leave you with this super cool graphic.