Social media can be a complicated phenomenon, because it shows you sides of people you enjoy that you might not have been aware of before. It can be hard to know who to follow, because you don't want to ruin someone for yourself by finding out they aren't who you thought they were. I totally get that. For that reason, let me just tell you that J.K. Rowling is the one person you need to be following on Twitter. Just to be clear, by that I don't mean that she's the only person you should be following on Twitter. Oh boy, what a lonely feed that would be. What I actually mean is she's one of the only people out there who I can wholeheartedly endorse across the board, so I feel good about telling people to click that follow button.
The only exception, obviously, is if you don't like Harry Potter, because then its creator is probably not your best Twitter match, duh. But, also, if you fall into the aforementioned category, I truly don't understand anything about you and I never will. You're missing out on thousands of hours of conversation with me about your Hogwarts House, your Patronus, which character you most identify with, and what your wand would be made of. Your loss. But, for the rest of you, Rowling is a near-perfect Twitter follow, and here are my top reasons why.
1. She's Active
Even in the course of me writing this, Rowling has tweeted three separate times — an article about Fantastic Beasts, a retweet educating her followers about child-trafficking, and the above tweet about righteousness. Following her, you'll never be lacking for content.
2. She's Kind
If you've read the Harry Potter series, you already know that Rowling is wise, but following her on Twitter is the quickest way to note how generous she is about dispensing that wisdom to her fans. Obviously, she's an author first and foremost, and not a therapist or a mental health professional, but Rowling frequently reaches out to struggling fans, encouraging them to seek help and showing them they're cared about.
3. She Fills Out The World Of Harry Potter
The books were written and published long ago, but as their creator, Rowling has details, secrets, and behind-the-scenes tidbits about the plot stored up in her head that she'll drop from time to time on Twitter. And you don't want to miss that, do you?
4. She Stays Informed
And the things Rowling cares about aren't just her fans and the wizarding world, by the way. She also stays on top of global news: she was a great source of info about the Brexit, and lately she's been tweeting quite a bit about our most recent election here in the states. Maybe you heard about it? She's been retweeting Hillary Clinton like mad, and it's warmed my heart to see it.
5. She Doesn't Care What You Think
If you have a problem with J.K. Rowling, she doesn't have a problem with you. She just doesn't have anything with you. She'll tell you exactly what she thinks, without mincing any words, and then she'll go about her day. She has enough success and is centered enough within herself that she isn't interested in letting strangers dictate how she should feel, and she frequently tells them that. It's pretty delightful to watch.
Basically, she's the hero we need, but not the one we deserve right now. I love seeing her follow in real life the lessons that she taught all of us in her books so long ago. It makes me feel like she's watching over all of us, saying the things we don't have the guts to say while reaching out a helping hand to those who need it. Never change, J.K. Rowling, never change.
