Joanne Kathleen Rowling: An Inspiring Woman
By Julia J Mastroianni, Age 13
A name often associated with a legendary series. A woman always known as the very symbol of the love of literature. An author that will live on forever through words and stories as the writer who changed the lives of many. This is Joanne Kathleen Rowling, a woman of inspiration to me.
J.K Rowling is a peculiar choice when a woman of inspiration is in question, mainly because the historical impact she has made has no relevance to any historical business. No, J.K Rowling impacted a world entirely different and unearthly- the universe of literature. In fact, her large impact reached me; an avid reader who found her miraculous series through recommendation. I began the series, and I was never the same again. I knew nothing of the author at the time, I simply knew that my little 9-year-old self could not and would not be whole without the Harry Potter series. Deeper and deeper I burrowed myself into the Harry Potter world until I felt slightly detached from the rest of reality. How could this complete captivation of the world not be an inspiration? Joanne inspired me to write; write with a passion, something I’ve always attempted to do. The universe that she had created was so completely diverse and...spellbinding! I found that Harry Potter could comfort me out of the “depths of despair” and teach me life lessons in the most subtle and entertaining ways that I slowly began to learn them- not the textbook way, but so that the lessons were engraved in my heart and guided my every move.
J.K Rowling opened the eyes of many young readers, including myself. She showed the world how momentous well-chosen words can be, and has inspired me, a hopeful writer, to keep on being hopeful, for Joanne too experienced that feeling of never being able to emerge from under the waves of discouragement that relentlessly washed over her. I believe J.K Rowling is the embodiment of hope; a lit candle in the darkness. She proved what the power of determination can do, and at the same time, led me to understand the magic of literature. In fact, Joanne was a turning point for many; her books opened up that universe of print, where one can immerse themselves in worlds so unlike their own and discover the many mysteries unique to it as one explores the delightful details around them. Time seems to stop in its place and allow readers to delve into all there is to know about their surroundings. I knew of this already, but I felt the keen beauty of it more deeply as I was exposed to J.K Rowling’s decidedly “non-Muggle” world.
J.K Rowling is and always will be a woman of utter tenacity that impacted my life. I firmly believe that she will go down in history as the author who single-handedly dominated the world of literature with her quite capable, pen-bearing hand.
J.K. Rowling, A True Wizard of Hope
By Lisa Bendzak
The woman I find to be most inspiring to me is author J.K. Rowling. As an aspiring writer myself she truly has shown what is possible and not to give up on what you want to do. Her life was not an easy one, and she went through periods of depression, being as poor as you are allowed to be in the UK, her marriage breaking up, being on welfare, and raising her child as a single mom.
An idea that came from her imagination turned out to be exactly the magical tracks to bring her to what she always wanted to be which was a writer. However, J.K.’s parents understandably so didn’t want her to go after writing when she was younger do to it not being a solid job and coming from a background of poverty. It was better to fall back on a quote on quote real job as not to face the hardships they endured.
Her travels on those tracks were certainly not simple because when she sent out Harry Potter she got many rejections and it almost wasn’t published! But, she kept going. She says that most people want to avoid ever failing in life, but if you don’t try than there’s no point in really putting yourself out there at all. What good does that create for you?
Failure will happen. It won’t be a destination you want to go through, but once you settle in there you can realize that you can hop aboard another train, with a different suitcase of goodies, and go after your set of goals once again. It may be a hidden route you weren’t able to see on the map, but it’ll take you where you need to be.
I’ve gotten plenty of rejection letters. I’ll probably get more that I can eventually stack up to make a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and then maybe 20 more.
Sometimes I want to just forget about being an author and not ever write again.
But, I look to J.K.’s story and think maybe I can become a published author too.
No, I probably won’t make millions or have her wavelength of success, but one of my hopes as a little girl was always to be an author.
Thank you J.K. Rowling for giving woman and girls all over the globe that wand of believing because of your venture.
Every person deserves a little magic when it comes to their dreams.
