7th Grade, 3rd Place - JK Rowling

Another AWESOME essay from my 2010 6th Grade Winner, Cari! I received a lot of essays about JK Rowling, but this essay rose straight to the top. Cari's is well researched, well written and from the heart. Keep up the good work Cari, I look forward to your essay next year! Kylie

Cari P
Cedar Ridge Middle School
7th Grade


If I Could Meet Anyone, It Would Be…

If I could meet anyone in the world, from any country, during any time period, it would be J.K. Rowling. An imaginative genius, Ms. Rowling is full to the brim with creativity, and her books emanate with a blend of knowledge, mythology, and magic. Anyone who gives her books a chance is drawn into the mythical humor of the story.

I want to meet J. K. Rowling because I love how she created stimulating, thought-provoking stories that generated a reading pandemic, causing Harry Potter books to be a common sight the world over. Tall or short, wise or naïve, everyone still reads Harry Potter.

It is very rare when someone can create a story that captures audiences of all ages. Even those who were not fond of reading became bookworms under the influence of Ms. Rowling’s stories. That places Jo, as she likes to be called, in a position of remarkable power. Thankfully she accepts it quietly and doesn’t seek to hold sway over the choices of her adoring fans. In fact, she uses this power to help those in need. Throughout the course of her writing career, she has promoted and donated to many charities such as One Parent Families and Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain. One charity accorded her a special honor: she has donated so much to The Children’s High Level Group that they changed its name to Lumos, for one of the spells in her book that brings a small beam of light. There are many people who would use such a vast amount of power very differently than she uses it.

I would want Jo to feel comfortable so I would insist that we meet at her home in Aberfeldy, Scotland. “There’s no place like home,” is there? The scenic views and the quiet peace of the quaint Scottish town would be perfect for a talk without being disturbed. Also, the breathtaking landscape would give many conversation starters, should there be an awkward silence.

The first question I would ask Ms. Rowling is, “Are you writing any more books?” I would ask her this because I want to read more of her writing. Almost since I could hold a conversation, my siblings were telling me about Harry Potter. Every time a new book would come out in the series, my oldest sister would go to a dress-up Harry Potter party and leave me wondering why she loved Harry Potter so much.

By the time I was in third grade I had found the answer to my question and I, too, felt a strange longing for the upcoming books. Completely absorbed, I whizzed (no pun intended) through the books as though possessed. My mom would have to ground me from the novels, because I would spend hours doing nothing but reading. Books became like a secret portal that would carry me away from the troubles of my life and let me experience other worlds. The longing I felt to visit places like England would be instantly quenched as I drank in the words. I was so addicted that I finished the third and the fourth Harry Potter books in the same week.

I would like Ms. Rowling to know how her life, or how one of her decisions or how one of her posterity changed history. Joanne has had a very good influence upon me personally, and upon millions of others. Every time I read her books, I am blown away by the fact that it seems so real. I feel like I could be there, solving the problems and pointing out the obvious answers to the solutions they can’t solve. I would tell her that I am inspired by her capacity to make something so real, that you are no longer sure if reality is all there is. Thrills rush through me when I think about the influence of her books. Lonely children have found courage by reading her heartwarming story of good triumphing over evil and a boy finally finding peace with the horrible burdens he has been forced to bear all of his life.

Jo has created a world that has become almost like a reality. Almost any person you ask, biased against Harry Potter or not, knows what Hogwarts is. Children all over the world love to believe that Harry Potter could be real and spend hours playing imaginative Harry Potter games in which they get to save the world and have magical powers. Harry Potter has proved to be quite an innovative market. Big name stores like Wal-Mart and Boarders sell Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, Harry Potter Books, and almost any Harry Potter novelty you can think of. Through her talents, TV-watching couch potatoes have become bookworms, people who are realistic have learned how to be dreamers, and those in need have benefitted through her philanthropic donations to charity.

At the conclusion of the interview, I would thank her for making such a positive influence on the world and for giving us Harry Potter. Thank you, J. K. Rowling.