Perseverance

Many years ago—or in 2007—I had just gotten my hands on the latest Harry Potter book and immediately dove in.

It had everything I was looking for: action, adventure, fantasy, romance and, most importantly, a top notch resolution. Sure, was I one of those people who thought Harry was going to die in the end?

Yes.

Was I pleasantly surprised by the added twist? Also yes.

All-in-all, it was an experience.

I finished the book in record timing, especially for one that is so thick.

3h and 50m.

I’ll never forget that. It was a great accomplishment and my family even congratulated me on it, which was nice, but also…weird. I didn’t do it to set a goal or anything.

I just did it because I loved to read (still do). I love being transported into different words via different lenses and perspectives, but after a day or so…I found myself inspired.

Though I didn’t initially set out to do it, I found a question blooming in my mind: why not?

Accomplishing anything should be celebrated, even if it’s a small one, so, I did. I allowed some pride (the good kind) to pump my heart, which elevated my mood, but it was here that an idea popped into my head.

Why not improve upon it?

Why not go harder?

Why not test your own limits?

And that’s exactly what happened next.

I set a goal…but not just for the latest book. I planned on doing something both eyebrow-rising and intriguing.

I was going to read all seven Harry Potter books in ONE DAY.

Not planning on being too hard on myself, I knew that my bathroom and eating breaks were going to have to be limited if I wanted to succeed but I also needed to have a comfortable session of reading. So, I chose to do it in my bedroom—which was really the only place I could go to since the house was small.

After the school week ended and it was Saturday, the challenge began.

I went to bed super early so I could get up at 6am and when I tell you that I was still dead tired…I’m not kidding. I’m a night owl (or an exhausted pigeon) by trade, so getting up, at that time, was a nightmare; however, I picked up the Sorcerer’s Stone (or the Philosopher's Stone) and began reading.

Compared to the other ones, it’s a light-read, so, I cruised through it and quickly found myself on the second one, the Chamber of Secrets, which was also pretty easy to read.

At 11am, I had officially made it to the third volume after nearly five hours.

Now, the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book of the Harry Potter series but this is where I started to feel the strain in my eyes, neck and back. It was also when I absolutely had to use the facilities and choose that moment to bring up a bucket full of snacks—I would’ve brought them up sooner but I usually skip breakfast, but thankfully, I muscled through and finished it within two hours.

Now, I was on the Goblet of Fire. The book where it gets real.

When things get really interesting for me, I’m usually able to cruise through anything. It’s a combination of the plot, character development, storytelling and the flow. So, if it doesn’t have that for me, my interest is hard to capture. But that wasn't the case here and before I knew it, I was on the last few pages of the fourth volume.

Yawning, I put it off to the side when I was done, my eyes screaming in pain. I thought about calling it quits at this precise moment. I remember that so vividly because my sister came in—we were sharing a room—with a plate full of food and she asked about my progress. I told her that I had three more books to read and she looked up at the clock.

It read: 4:43pm.

I was doing well but was definitely running out of time.

She told me that I could do it and that she believed in me but that was the problem. At this point, I didn’t believe in myself. I was out of steam. My eyes hurt. My neck was knotted up and my fingers were beginning to look like claws.

Sighing heavily, I waited until she left before glancing down at the Order of the Phoenix. As I nibbled at my food, I had the classic symptoms of quitting:

“I could always say I did it…”

“...No one will ever know…”

“This was a stupid thing to do anyway. Why would you do this?”

“It’s your day off from school! You should be enjoying yourself!”

But the more I looked at the remaining three books, the more determined I was to finish them. My grandma always said: “to finish what you start” and that’s exactly what I intended to do!

So, I picked up the fifth volume and plunged in after taking that small—doubt-filled—break.

Since they were getting thicker, it took me a bit longer to finish it but since it was, once again, interesting…it didn’t take me that long.

I began the Half-Blood Prince at exactly 8pm and I knew that I had to hurry up if I wanted to meet my goal. Pushing myself harder than I ever had before, I scoured over the pages, reading the words at a quick pace.

I wasted no time when it came to the last one.

Practically hurling the sixth volume away from me, I grabbed the Deathly Hallows and cracked it open at 10:17pm. Luckily for me, I had just recently poured over it, so, my speed was even, but swift, as I figuratively ripped through each and every page.

I was so close to midnight that I could almost taste it.

Sweat poured from my forehead and onto my fingers as I did my best to push through and when I got to the last three pages, I glanced up at the clock.

11:56pm.

Panicking, I went back to work, a cold chill of frustration and dedication overtaking my whole body and soul.

It wasn’t until three minutes later that I had finished the entire thing.

I had only one minute left to spare before I would’ve blown the whole day.

I did it!

I read all seven Harry Potter books in just one day!

I had even surpassed my previous time, on the seventh volume, via sheer will power!

Collapsing back onto my pillows, I inhaled deeply before closing my eyes.

I honestly didn’t think I would be able to do it. So, the fact that I had succeeded my own expectations and pushed past my overwhelming self of doubt and personal agony, was—in my book—a complete triumph. I preserved against all odds and tested the boundaries of my attention span and my body’s limitations and it felt GOOD.

I made a small achievement, in the grand scheme of things, and I would never forget the moment when I had finished and how wonderfully exhausted I was. I slept well that night!

I always strive to be a positive person but some moments can get you down. Though I had my bouts of uncertainty, that’s perfectly normal. It’s what you do with them that matters in the long run. Are you going to quit? Or are you going to climb that large hill in order to get to the other side?

The lesson of my story is that you can pass over any hurdles—big or small.

You just have to try.

Oh, and I also made a timetable of my progress on a sheet of paper. It holds all of my recorded times, the books, my feelings, concerns and random doodles of my frustration.

I still have that to this day and it still makes me smile.