I recently read a tweet that a teacher in India tweeted J.K. Rowling about coming to visit one of her students, a 12-year-old girl named, Kulsum. Although Rowling could not travel to the Himalayas, she personally sent Kulsum a package of autographed Harry Potter goodies.

Now to someone who has known the name J.K. Rowling her entire life, things like this never come as a surprise, but they never cease to amaze me.

Yes, she lost her spot as a billionaire on 'Forbes' billionaire list due to charitable donations.

Yes, she started the charity, Lumos, in 2005 to benefit institutionalized children globally (while writing Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows).

Yes, she is the epitome of a rock star.

However, those are not her biggest accomplishments. Not even seven books and eight movies are the pinnacle of her greatness.

Her most notable achievement was touching the heart of every person who flipped through the novels as they met the scrawny boy with pitch black, untidy hair and a lightning scar.

I was read her books before I was even born. My mom read the first two in the series to my three siblings and, as I was in my mother's stomach, me.

From there on, the McNamara's were hooked. We went to all the book releases and movie premieres..usually dressing up as our favorite characters.

As we grew up, my parents bought the books on tape which lulled us to sleep every night. Narrated by Jim Dale, these audiobooks were one of the best purchases my parents ever made.

And thus, we memorized them.

Dale could somehow bring Rowling's words to life in a way that made the characters not only come off the page, but dance around the room.

He voiced every single character.

I will repeat that. He read for every single character, a different voice for each.

Through the next years of childhood, I grew up, but I never lost my deep love for the stories. The magic was always in me, coming out in little moments. My senior quote, reading "Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve" was just one example of how the series was still ingrained in me.

When I was applying to colleges, a particular essay question to one university was 'Describe a book, movie, or other piece of art that has influenced you and explain why.'

With no doubt in my mind, I wrote about J.K. Rowling, Jim Dale, and the Harry Potter series.

That essay was Villanova's.

So thank you, J.K. Rowling, because without knowing it, you helped me get into college.

Thank you for teaching me about love, loyalty, and courage.

Thank you for giving me a smart and strong heroine in Hermione, one that the media and literary community so desperately needed.

Thank you for discussing grief and not shying away from it, but making the emotion raw and real.

And thank you, Jim Dale, for stopping so many panic attacks before they could ambush me.

Joanne Kathleen Rowling,

Thank you for your brilliant mind, kind heart, and sharp tongue.

"After all this time?"

"Always."