My essay

“Let us not forget, after all, that there is always a moment when the moral choice is made. Often because of one story or one book or one person, we are able to make a different choice, a choice for humanity, for life.” -Elie Wiesel (1928-2016). When I first read this quote I thought ‘No one is really influenced by people or books, everyone is their own person’. Then I realized that without my friends and family or all the books I have read, I would be very different. I have been changed by them. We are all unique, but we are influenced by almost everything we encounter. I can’t say that one thing has shaped my decision process. There is one book series that has had the most impact, the Harry Potter series.

Those seven books have influenced me in my decision making because they taught me empathy and how to put myself in other people’s shoes. I learned the that actions have consequences. There have been multiple studies which show that people who have read the Harry Potter books can be more tolerant and empathetic. The studies included groups of middle school, high school, and college students and they were asked questions about their opinions of refugees and immigrants. Those that had read Harry Potter were mostly more accepting of refugees and immigrants. Obviously these tests don’t prove that everyone who read Harry Potter automatically likes immigrants more than people who haven’t read the books. People who haven’t read the books can feel the same way. These tests just showed that the people who read them saw examples of discrimination between “pure-bloods” and “muggle-borns”, and they saw how it didn’t matter.

There is something about the main character, Harry, that readers identify with. He teaches us about ourselves and we can find situations in the book that happen to us in real life, if not in the exact same setting. Our decision making processes is shaped by our experiences, the experiences of people around us, and the experiences of people in books.

I now realize that books can influence you and change how you make your choices. I think that I would be a different person if I hadn’t read Harry Potter. The studies show that most people who have read Harry Potter make better ethical decisions. Harry Potter can not take all of the credit, my parents, my family, my friends, my teachers, and everyone I have met all are responsible for me being who I am. I am challenging everyone, to think about who has influenced them, no matter how small, and then think about who they have influenced. I hope it will make everyone a little more appreciative.