What Are Endings?

Endings are hard. Whether it be the ending of a long friendship, relationship, or a book. It may seem strange to lump in books with the end of a long connection, like a friendship. But for a lot of people, myself included, the ending of a book or series is like losing a friend.

I know that may seem a bit dramatic to some people. But reading is making a connection to characters. Its one of my favorite parts of books. That ink, paper, and words can make characters that seem as real as you and me. Take the Harry Potter series for example, that series has affected people world wide. I know that it made me want to be a witch and go to Hogwarts. The Harry Potter series made people believe in magic again. It brought about seven books, eight movies, and a connection with millions of people. When the end did finally come, it was touched with great triumph but also great sadness. It was like the end of an era had come. I remember when the last book came out. I had a friend at the time that got the book before I did. When I was talking to her on the phone and she let a major spoiler slip. I was furious and at the same time crushed. I could've strangled her (just kidding...kind of). I had only just gotten the book from my mom that day too. My mom had to read it before me, which I saw as only slightly evil (:D). Anyway, I gave the book back to my mom and told her I didn't need to read it because the ending was ruined for me. She told me to still read it and that it wasn't the whole story. Thankfully, I listened to her, read it, and seriously bawled my eyes out. I didn't want the story to end and I didn't want to say goodbye to all the characters that I loved. With this series, it was a fantastic ending, and bittersweet. I closed the door to the world of magic, muggles, Harry, all of Hogwarts happy and glad to have been along for the ride.

Not all books or a series will leave a big impact. I think its more like the smaller ones that don't hurt as much prepare you for the ones that can leave a hole in your heart or feel like they just punch you in the stomach. I think if all books left that big of a mark that everyone would walk around drained. Not to say that the small ones don't hurt, or aren't as important. Believe me, they are, sometimes even more so than the big ones. While endings are hard, they are something we need. If nothing ended, nothing could begin. Endings allow us to say our goodbyes to loved characters. Then we get to move on to new worlds, new characters, and new adventures.