2011. I had heard a little about Tolkien before then, but not much.
I was assigned The Hobbit in the summer before my senior year of high school. I'm not normally over-fond of assigned reading, and wasn't expecting to enjoy it much. But to my surprise, I loved it! After that, I dived eagerly into my assignment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and have been enchanted by Tolkien's world ever since. In a difficult time for me, Frodo and the story of LoTR provided me with inspiration and the will to keep going. I only recently watched Peter Jackson's trilogy, and fell in love with it as well.
I'm looking forward to learning more about Tolkien's universe! :)
Favorite Tolkien character:
Samwise Gamgee. For so many reasons! His gradual growth from humble-and-happy-to-be gardener, to a still humble, but much more courageous and brave character was something of a profound inspiration to me. And his constant loyalty and unwavering hope and devotion to his friends and to what was right through everything they went through really moved me.
Although I love all of the characters, so it's really difficult to choose, isn't it?
