'How Harry Potter Fandom Changed My Life': Discussion on how this fandom changed us.

[djin7]

Hi! I'm DJ, and I'm happy to host the 'How Harry Potter Fandom Changed My Life': Discussion. I'm posting this at midnight and then I will be back in the morning after 11:11 to enjoy the discussion.

First, a poll!

Poll How HP Fandom Changed My LifeDid Harry Potter fandom change your life? Did the sheer size of it overwhelm you, enthrall you, spoil and ruin you for all other

Comments

I'll go first!

[djin7]

LJ Name/User (previous or present): DJ (I have always been djin7)
Harry Potter fandom era joined (by year, book or movie): Book: OOtP (2003)
Pairings/ships/OTPs (if any): Snarry, Drarry, Harry/Hermione, Harry/Pansy, Harry/Remus, Harry/Lucius. Harry/anyone, pretty much. GEN TOO
When did you find Livejournal?: 2004, when I was linked to various authors here by a Harry Potter yahoo group. I signed up for LJ in early 2005, and I'm still here.
Did you ever attend a Harry Potter convention or HP fan meet-up? Where?* Yes, many - Lumos, Prophecy, Azkatraz, Lubricus, Terminus, Aeternitus
How did the Harry Potter Fandom change *your* life? Be as candid as you please but this is not a boxing match! I can't even articulate how much: Basic skills on the internet, then advanced skills. Website Coding. Editing. Writing. Traveling (see conventions, above). Volunteering. Organisation. I learned all these things at the feet of masters, and I have so many more things to learn! I also received immense and unbelievable gifts in the form of ridiculously crafted stories (along with the occasional ridiculous story) and art beyond imagination. I made friends I feel will last me a lifetime, something I had not been prepared to accept when I first came to LJ, having only been in online forums and groups before, where 2-dimensional seemed the way of life. Now that I've met most of them IRL thanks to the conventions, I am now a believer in internet friendship. Unfortunately HP Fandom also showed me the how vicious online life can be. Now that I've witnessed GamerGate and the like, though, I'm beginning to think Fandom Wank and Strikeout/Deletegate were just walks in the park. Perspective, yanno?

I still love HP, and come back to re-read things I loved. I am never going to not miss the community and togetherness HP LJ fandom brought me. ♥