To celebrate Women's History Month, Teen Vogue and Fresh U teamed up to ask college women to write letters to their heroes. Here, University of Arkansas student Maya Ungar shares her love for Hermione Granger.
Dear Hermione Granger, thank you for showing me that my worth is not external.
When I was 6 years old, I read my first Harry Potter book. I was immediately engrossed in this beautiful magical world where playing quidditch, eating chocolate frogs, and running through walls were commonplace. I wanted nothing more than to receive my own Hogwarts letter on my 11th birthday (no matter how impossible I knew that was).
However, the thing that has the biggest impact on me from the franchise, was you. As a young girl with big bushy brown hair and an undeniable thirst for learning, I related to you in a way I had never related to a character before. Throughout the books, I grew and developed as you did. Having a female role model, even if fictional, who was my age yet defied the societal stereotypes of a ‘cool girl’ was incredibly important for my development.
Female characters in other franchises almost always seemed to be valued for something other than themselves; usually they existed to be in a relationship with a male character. However, you were important because of your wit and intelligence, not because you were beautiful or a ‘perfect match’ for any male character. Your relationship was secondary to who you were, teaching me that boys are not where self-worth comes from. When I read these books for the first time, I was at a period of my life where I felt that my value partially came from my outward appearance. Seeing that your looks played such a small role in defining who you were was really impactful to me.
One of the most important things you did for me, was teaching me that learning was okay — and possibly even cool? Society had taught me that school wasn’t considered ‘cool,’ and that it was weird to really enjoy going to classes. I have always had a thirst for knowledge, yet I had always felt a need to hide it to some extent. Seeing a character representing that passion so unabashedly, had a big impact on how I viewed school.
You represented a type of girl that I had never seen popularized. You broke through glass ceilings (or completely smashed them), showing millions of young girls that internal power and worth comes from personality and not looks. You taught my generation that learning is an amazing thing, and that being passionate and curious is not a negative characteristic. Hermione, thank you for opening up my mind to new possibilities, you may be fictional but you inspired confidence and self-love in countless generations of young girls.
Sincerely,
A thankful reader.
Related: This Activist Taught Me How to Harness My Own Power
