I need your opinion...

You, yes you if you are reading this, should tell me what you think of this idea.  

I had this idea around last year for the Harry Potter Alliance and I'm going to try and sell it to you now.  Here I go!

 

So, we all have our own stories about how we first came to Harry Potter and that still remains for most of us a very important and defining chapter in our lives.  Some fans have even begun to write their own novels or stories inspired by that moment.  Each story is different and has had an incredible impact and continues to unite us even after Harry's story has ended.  Some may say the fandom is starting to dwindle and they may be right.  But we all feel the same nostalgia when we reminisce about the first time we read that first chapter in that first book.  The wonder and the magic we felt.  We were all his friend and companion through his first perilous year and beyond.  We would endure the bewilderment and judgment of our parents and/or friends when we glued our noses to the books or anxiously theorised and re-read while waiting for then next installment to come out because it was worth it and it was okay to be misunderstood because Harry was misunderstood too.  

Let's face it.  There is a tier system in the fandom (maybe that's not the right word, but I can't really think of any other way to describe it).  Some Harry Potter fans are more popular and have more influence than others.  Some excel at music and so they start a band.  Some are just really brave and better than others at expressing themselves and choose to do it over the internet and get good responses to that expression (I'm not saying they don't endure the hater every once in a while because we all know they do).  Then there are the fans who are lower on that totem pole.  They look up to the people that are higher up and want to be noticed by them.  I am definitely guilty of this.  Probably more guilty than a lot of people.  Maybe we are shy and are afraid of putting ourselves out there and that's why we have a harder time making friends (again, guilty).  I'm not saying this is a bad thing.  It isn't.  It's natural for some to be more popular than others for whatever reason.  We like putting people on pedestals and I'm not saying those people don't deserve it.  There are good things about those people and they are rewarded for putting themselves out there and that's fantastic.  I love those people!  They're awesome and although I would love to be friends with all of them they can't be friends with everyone.  It's impossible.  That isn't the point I'm trying to make so I'll just stop talking about it.  Basically this fandom is huge and, as much as I hate to say it, has gotten kind of impersonal and a lot of people, including myself, feel like there is no place for them anymore.  We as Harry Potter fans all have two things in common.  We are dorks and we love Harry Potter.  Not one person's story is more important than another's and I think that is really important and we all need to realise this. We all bring something to the fandom.  Some people are good at running websites and so they provide all of us with an information source about our favourite thing.  Some people are really good at writing and choose to contribute the the fan fiction part of the fandom.  Some people just have a way with words and are really good at expressing themselves and their ideas on camera and because of this have a lot of followers.  Some people are talented musicians and write and perform their own songs and contribute to the music part of the fandom and at the same time provide the rest of the fans with an opportunity to attend a free concert and socialise and meet with other fans.  Some people are event planners and take the aforementioned opportunity to socialise even further and create events that contribute to the lasting friendships and networks that make up the fandom.  Some people have a passion for charity work and/or making the world suck less so they set up things like the HPA and the ning.  This fandom is full of amazing people.  Some people write musicals and perform skits and some people have over 20,000 subscribers on YouTube and are still humble (and normal) enough to be surprised and flattered when someone recognises them on the street.  All of us are good at something even if we don't realise it and there is no reason for some of us to just hide in the shadows and admire from afar.  We need to be comfortable with each other and realise our equality.  No one is cooler than someone else because we are all nerds and that is OK!  We need to realise that we ALL contribute to this fandom equally and all have the right to express our opinions as well as share our stories with fellow fans as well as the rest of the world.  I say the rest of the world because there are plenty of people I know who just don't seem to get it.  Maybe they are hesitant for whatever reason to start reading the books.  Maybe they think it's too late for them and that they've missed the boat (or train!) or maybe they are just intimidated (which is understandable from an outside point of view).  If they could see something the impact it has had on people then they might want to be part of it too.  Just imagine that you are sitting with your future eleven year old child and you as a parent want to introduce them to the magic that is Harry Potter so that they can experience the same joy you had.  The only problem is is that Harry Potter is a little outdated by there time and they might be a little hesitant to read something that thick or may be turned off from the title or cover.  But if you could show them yours and hundreds of other people's stories of how this book changed their lives then that would be amazing and they would probably want to be a part of it just as you were.  

I think it would be a really neat way to unite the fandom if all of us were to write down those momentous chapters of our lives and somehow compile them into the same book.  Now I know what you are probably thinking.  That would be a really big book.  Yes it would (but come on, we should really not be turned off from thick books by now).  The fan base is huge and spreads across numerous countries.  That equals A LOT of individual stories, but they all are so interesting and unique.  What if we could get a lot of people to write down their stories, publish a book, get the fans to buy the book and then donate all of the proceeds through the HPA to something like helping the situation in Darfur and Burma.  We could even do multiple volumes of the books and that would be even better because it could raise even more money.  No volume would be more important than another.  There would be a story from Chelsey Wieringa right next to a story by Melissa Anelli which is right next to a story from someone who lives in Egypt.  It would be equal just like all of us are equal.  It could be an amazing way to create unity in the fandom because I think we need to be united.  Our fandom boils down to one thing and one thing only.  Harry Potter.  People shouldn't be afraid to put themselves out there for fear of being rejected by the fandom.  We all love the same thing.  We all get a little choked up when we hear Hedwig's Theme.  And we all had that very first moment with the most ordinary boy who turned out to be extraordinary showing us that we too could be extraordinary.  This could be a way for us to pass on to the future what Harry Potter meant to us, the ones that were fortunate enough to wait for each book to come out and attend wrock shows and conferences.  Us, the ones that created the fandom.  

I also realise that I forgot to mention what I was listening to in my last post.  Oops.  I'll just list 2!

Currently listening: 

1.  Candyman by Christina Agulara.  It sounds very swing music-ish and I like it a lot.  I wish Christina Agulara was still popular.  She was actually talented.  It doesn't seem fair that she isn't as famous simply because she is constantly being outslutted.  Oh America... why do you have such low standards?  

2. Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus.  Judge if you will, but I am not one bit ashamed.  

Currently reading:

I got bored of waiting for my library to get Catching Fire (which they STILL haven't!)  So I found this book called Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica.  It is quite hilarious.  It's basically a book of his essays about being a waiter and I can't help but to relate and sympathise with what he goes through.  Someday (perhaps someday soon since I seem to be on a roll this week) I will post my experiences in the food service industry thus far...

... but until that time, I bid you farewell and hopefully I will write again soon.  I can't wait to hear your opinions!  :-)  Feel free to disagree too.  I just hope I don't lose any of you, followers.  You are nice to me and I like you.