I am a grade school drop out. Got to first grade and said, “I’m outta here!” Sure, I studied. I worked. I toiled. But did I go back to school? Did I get my GED? A diploma? Heck, I barely squeaked out a decent SAT score. (ACT, that’s another story. A good story, but I digress.)

    Certain people, they doubted me. They said I’d never get accepted to college, my resume would be pitiful, that I’d never amount to anything.

    Think it’ll help my cause if I land myself in a collegiate textbook? Eh, I’ll do it anyway, just in case. 🙂 While I’m at it, let’s go for the big guns and make it a textbook from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I may not be physically in college, but hey, I’ll be there anyway. At least, my name will be.

    Hehe, that just makes me giggle. In case you’re wondering, I’m not kidding. About a year ago, just after I returned from Berlin, I received a call from Dr. Henry Jenkins, the founder and director of the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT. He and I chatted for several hours so that he could interview me for a textbook he was writing about fan culture, its influence on education, and my influence from within the community. He was very pleasant, I had a great time talking to him, and he has since been kind enough to write several letters of recommendation for me and my company, The Daily Prophet. He’s a smart man, and a kind one – a rare combination.

    This afternoon, I received an email from Dr. Jenkins informing me that he was nearing completion on his textbook. He also told me that I played a “prominent role” in one chapter in particular, and he would appreciate it if I could read and review his representation of my work. The chapter – number six, entitled “Why Heather Can Write: Informal Education, Media Literacy, and The Potter Wars.” – was very interesting and highly complimentary. It mentions me by name not only in the chapter, but the chapter title’s named after me.

    I have to say, the whole idea is incredibly flattering. And reading the text, it makes me glow. It’s a beautiful feeling to know that other people recognize my work as something important and beneficial to children everywhere, and to the community as a whole. I know this is a unique statement coming out of a teenager, but I can’t wait to get my hands on that textbook!

    You know, I think this might trump being in USA Today. As much fun as that was, I only know of a small handful of people who wrote term papers about my work. Now, mwahaha, when MIT students dread upcoming term papers, they’ll be dreading papers (partially) about me! How evil does that make me feel as a home-schooler? 🙂

    In all seriousness, it’s an honor, one I’ll never forget. I’ll be ordering several copies as soon as it’s published, and I may have to make a trip to Cambridge to get Dr. Jenkins’ autograph. Cause really, how often is a person’s horn tooted by someone who created an entire department at MIT?

    Hehe, I think it’ll be a while before that sinks in. 🙂