One Year Ago...

One year ago last weekend was the Helping Haiti Heal livestream at the HPA. For me, it was the day that I really fell in love with the HPA. I had wanted to be on staff since the summer before, and I had been involved since that year's Accio Books in April, but Helping Haiti Heal was what really made me fall in love. I remember wanting to do something to help Haiti so badly, but not knowing what to do. And then the HPA announced their livestream.

I was at a really rough place - school was taking a huge toll on me, and my relationship with my then-boyfriend had really taken a downward turn. I spent every waking minute on the computer doing homework, the only social life I had was when I was at school or talking to my roommates (which wasn't much because I had so much homework). But I was always on Twitter. I followed the HPA, and a whole bunch of wizard rockers, who, though I didn't know it then, were on the HPA's board of directors. They were talking about something exciting happening today all week, and I just KNEW that it had something to do with Haiti. I felt encouraged. I went to the livestream, and I can only remember feeling so inspired and happy once - HPAFTW. And without Helping Haiti Heal, that never would have happened.

For once, spending all day glued to my computer wasn't a chore. I didn't do any homework during that livestream. I was glued to the Helping Haiti Heal page, to the livestream, to Twitter. After it was over, I was happier than I had been for months. My roommate was astounded. But it didn't stop there. The livestreams continued, and I was at every one that I could be.

When I realized how much we had raised for Haiti by the end of it all, I started to cry. I have never been more proud of anything I have done in my life. I've rarely felt so much love coming from people I had never met, I had rarely felt so much good coming from humanity, or had so much faith in people. The HPA has given me that. I feel that so often now. I would be such a different person if I wasn't part of the HPA. So I would just like to say thanks - thank you to Andrew, to the staff, to every member of our Dumbledore's Army. You guys are so amazing.

(I did a vlog about this: watch it here!)