Hey, everyone! So this article is more of a personal one than an advice/factual one as it is a recount of the best day of my life! My name is Hannah. I live near Sydney, Australia, and in the last week of May we were honoured to have the one and only Jennifer Niven stay in that very city!
On that Wednesday I traveled with my school to Sydney, and we watched four brilliant Young Adult authors, Jennifer being the last one. She had a signing afterwards, and we could all go and meet her! We were very lucky to be one of the first people in line out of at least three hundred, knowing we only had fifteen minutes until we had to leave.
Her talk was incredible and so, so motivating as she spoke about her books and characters as if they were her own children. The topics she covered were very hard for her to speak about, but she did so in such a delicate and mindful manner that the entire audience clung onto every word.
When I finally met her, I was so shaky and almost cried. I had made her a letter and bought her some souvenirs and also had five things in total for her to sign (which is a lot since she put time and effort into every one). When I told her I write for Germ, she grabbed my hands and was so pleased and, to my surprise, whipped out her own phone and took a picture of us! I am so honoured to have met her. I then got my own photo with her, hugged her, and sadly left.
Jennifer is the loveliest person I have ever met, and you can really tell how much she must pride herself on completing this. When she talks to you, she gives complete and utter attention to you and you only. She listens. For somebody who has been through as much trauma and heartbreak as she has, she has grown into such a beautiful person inside and out.
So that was Wednesday. Now, as a massive fan, I asked my mum if we could go and see her again on the Saturday, and before we knew it, it turned into a weekend away as we saw plenty of other authors too.
So on Saturday we took the train and walked to Riverside theatres and saw her. She spoke about different things the second time, spoke differently about the same things, and completely wowed yet another audience. Then we met her again. When I saw her this time, she remembered me, thanked me for coming again, and I hugged her and got another photo, which is the one that is pictured above. When I was walking away, I told her Asa Butterfield would be the perfect Finch for the movie — for obvious reasons of course — and she said she’d keep it in mind. Then I thanked her for the opportunity to see her twice as I may not for a while, and she simply threw her hands in the air and said, “Oh, we’ll talk,” as if we were friends in 6th grade departing to high school (or as you Americans call it, middle school). And then I left again. Even sadder this time.
However, this day was nowhere near spotless. Mum and I had trouble with the trains, got lost a thousand times while walking, and a girl even passed out before we went in (she was okay!), so we had to wait an extra half an hour beforehand while we were already late for the show after Jennifer.
But this particular Saturday was a perfect day.
I always thought it impossible. Ever since I read All the Bright Places I thought, You can’t have a perfect day. There’s always something that wrecks it, even if it’s small. But no. You can, and I did. I had the best day of my life, and it is all thanks to Jennifer Niven (and my mum of course. Thanks, Mum!).
Thank you, Jennifer, for the perfect day!
(And guys, if you ever have the chance to see her, drop everything because it is a once — or twice, in my case — in a lifetime opportunity. I miss her so much already!)