{"id":61737,"date":"2016-10-03T00:09:21","date_gmt":"2016-10-03T07:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=61737"},"modified":"2016-10-03T00:09:21","modified_gmt":"2016-10-03T07:09:21","slug":"her-story-merit-badge-beginner-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/61737","title":{"rendered":"Her-Story Merit Badge, Beginner Level"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tThe adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our<\/span> Sisterhood Merit Badge program<\/span><\/span><\/a>, now with\u00a07,130 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u201410,150 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Wondering who I am? I\u2019m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my<\/span> former life<\/span><\/span><\/a> \u2026\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

For this week\u2019s Each Other\/Her-Story Beginner Level Merit Badge<\/u><\/a>, I found myself stumped for a moment. Find an influential and\/or powerful woman who is still alive to research.<\/p>\n

Hmm. Seemed simple enough, but surprisingly difficult, to boot. Also, I got a little sad when random women jumped into my head, then when I Googled them, found that they had passed to their eternal reward. Sniffle. Audrey Hepburn, I\u2019m talking to you<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer, while filming War and Peace. Milton H. Greene for LOOK Magazine via Wikimedia Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

I puzzled and puzzled till my puzzler was sore. I racked my gray matter. I pondered and pontificated and mused. I ate some cookies. I thought some more. I drummed my fingers restlessly on my coffee table, where my latest stack of library books sat ready and waiting. I looked down.<\/p>\n

Then, I had it!<\/p>\n

Harry Potter\u2019s cute, little, bespectacled face peered up at me endearingly.<\/p>\n

J.K. Rowling!<\/p>\n

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photo by Daniel Ogren via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Talk about influential and powerful. I mean, she singlehandedly got millions of school-aged youngsters to love books again. That\u2019s influential. <\/em>She changed the game for middle school novels. That\u2019s powerful. <\/em>And even more than that, I learned she\u2019s pretty darn inspirational too.<\/p>\n

Some facts about J.K. you might find as super-neato as I did:<\/p>\n