John Green: A Hero

John Green is a hero in the eyes of many people, especially teenagers. He has the ability to change the lives of billions. He does this through everything that he does: writing, videos, and charity. This beloved author was born on the 24th of August in 1997 and spent most of his childhood in Orlando, Florida (John Green). He also spent his childhood changing schools many times, but ended up graduating from Indian Springs School in Alabama. (John Green). After this, he went to Kenton College in Gambier, Ohio where he double-majored in English and Religious Studies (John Green). John married Sarah Urist-Green who is an assistant curator at the IMA (“Teen Beat”). They have two kids together: Henry, who is four, and Alice, who is one (Talbot).

The FTDWS was created in 2007 and runs throughout the year (Project For Awesome). It became a real thing when it turned into a non-profit organization in Montana in 2011 (Project For Awesome). It is 100% volunteer run and exists to help other charities (Project For Awesome). P4A has been held every year since 2007 and now occurs every year on the second Friday and Saturday of December (Project For Awesome). In 2013, $850,000 was raised which benefitted twenty charities (Project For Awesome). To raise money, people will post videos during a live stream where they talk about a charity of their choice (Project For Awesome). The brothers explain, “100% of all money raised goes to charity less the cost of Perl manufacturing, Indiegogos fees, and credit card fees. Everything is packed and shipped by volunteers, and no one is paid a single penny for any work related to P4A of the FTDWS” (Project For Awesome). On their website, they also state the two different ways money is split: The first part of the money is raised from 12am ET on December 10th, through 11:59am ET on December 13th, this will go to Save the Children and Partners in Health, ones that Nerdfighteria has worked with closely over the years. The second half is raised from 12pm (noon) ET on December 13th through 11:59pm ET on December 16th, donations will go to community chosen organizations, based

He starts off his books by asking questions that interest him or pique his curiosity: “Why are we so interested in leaving a legacy? Can we construct meaning in a world that is so profoundly apathetic towards us? Is it possible to have a full life without having a long life?” (John Green). With these great questions as well as characters, he is able to create stories that touch his readers. He has written the books: Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars. Along with this, he is a coauthor with David Levithan in Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and he wrote a short story “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” with Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson in the book Let it Snow. Around eight years ago, John met a teen girl online named Esther Grace Earl (Talbot). She was one of his biggest nerdfighters and had thyroid cancer (Talbot). They became close, but she died in 2010 when she was sixteen, and John said that he “couldn’t have written it (the book) without her” (Talbot). After she died he helped her parents publish a book filled with her essays and drawings through Dutton (“John Green Finally Goes to the Movies!”). The Fault in our Stars is easily Green’s most popular book. Before it was even finished or published, it reached the top spot on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites (“Teen Beat”). This happened because he announced that he would be signing the entire first printing (around 150,000