All About You
List three of your strongest and weakest personality traits.
Strongest:
Thoughtful. I usually say intelligence when I answer this part of the application. However, I figured that a) considering my house, that’s a bit of a given and b) this application deals more with personality traits which are behavioral and emotional and my intelligence is an inherent part of me. The thoughtfulness is how I utilize said intelligence. I’ve always been someone who’s been better with certain aspects of academia which aren’t limited to finite answers. I genuinely enjoy thinking things through and exploring different possibilites. I’m very good in debate-type formats and classes which focus on discussion. I’m very curious about the world, human behavior, how it links to politics, the whole shebang, really. And when I’m curious about something, well, I rarely ever let go of it. As a result of this, there are some things that I’m just naturally good at, such as English and certain aspects of History class. I can even bullshit my way through an economics exam as long as I focus on questions which are related to human behavior. I’m very perceptive when it comes to things like that. The downside is that I’m miserable at technical subjects such as the maths and sciences. However, I’ve accepted the fact that I’m absolutely horrible with those because I’m happy with what I do at excel at.
Open-minded. Maybe this is just part of who I am or maybe it’s a product of how I was raised(and where for that matter), but I’m not the type of person who will judge you. My one exception to this is that I have little patience for stupid people, which I know is somewhat of an issue, but outside of that I’m an exceedingly open-minded person. I will be accepting of someone regardless of race, sexuality, etc. I just don’t care, because we’re all people. It is this aspect of my personality that has led to many people coming to speak to me when they have issues, because I’ll usually offer good, fair advice.
This next one is a strange one, because I’m often a very loud and out there person, but I’ve noticed that one thing that I can be quite good at that is completely in contradiction to other parts of personlity is my ability to get a handle on a chaotic situation and then figure out how to solve it. Even though I have moments where I act mentally twelve(making jokes about Dumbledore being the Headmaster for one), I’ve been told that I’m quite mature for my age. I can defuse a situation if it needs defusing, but only really if it’s not something that connects to me directly, otherwise I tend to lose my head.
Weakest Traits:
Temperamental. I have a temper, which manifests itself in two ways. More often than not, I have a quick temper and the smallest things can irritate the hell out of me. However, I can react in different ways to this. I can just sort of seethe and be generally short with people sometimes. This can keep on happening until I eventually explode. In other situations, I’ll just straight out start yelling and be confrontational. It really depends on the situation, but it’s not a very good personality trait to have.
Pessimistic. Life has, in general, disappointed me. I know that a lot of it has to do with where I live currently. I dislike my school and most of the people in it. Essentially, I’m in a place in my life where I have things that I know that I want out of life, but I’m completely and utterly unable to obtain them due to extraneous circumstances. It’s disheartening and as a result, I haven’t really given many of the people around me much of a chance to get close because I just find myself…apathetic. They’re not my close friends from back in California, they don’t know everything about me and don’t understand me, so I don’t bother. I have this outlook like it’s just not worth it in the long run. Maybe it is, but it’s a little too late to change that.
I am horribly disorganized. Someone in my life once joked that I’m like some kind of rumpled absent minded academic. I’d say that it’s a little bit on the true side. My school locker is a disaster zone. I have 4 notebooks which I can never distinguish from the other stuffed full of papers which I can never identify. I always forget things. I have a DVD that I borrowed ages ago that I still haven’t given back. It’s a wonder that I don’t walk off a cliff on accident.
Which of the seven deadly sins are you most guilty of?
I’ve already mentioned my temper as one of my poor personality traits, and that fits in with wrath. I think that the one other one which I should address is pride. Allow me to make sense of this by using a definition. Because who doesn’t love Wikipedia? Seriously.
Pride is an emotion which refers to a strong sense of self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated as well as joy in the accomplishments of oneself or a person, group, nation or object that one identifies with, or to think of one's self as being better than anyone else. It is considered one of the seven deadly sins. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, Proud comes from late Old English prud, probably from Old French prude "brave, valiant" (11th century), from Latin prode "advantageous, profitable", from prodesse "be useful". The sense of "having a high opinion of oneself", not in French, may reflect the Anglo-Saxons' opinion of the Norman knights who called themselves "proud", like the French knights preux.
Self-respect. Yes, that’s very much true. Everyone has those moments where they are down on themselves, but I know my own worth. I’m not going to take you seriously if you try to tell me otherwise, if you try to mock me just because I’m different from you. That really doesn’t matter to me. As a result, I can be very proud and yes, any slight on my character pisses me off. I don’t take something like that lying down, and I’ll argue with you about it and then it will proceed to bother me for ages. I really tend to obsess over things.
How important are family and friends to you?
My family…I love my family. At least my close family. I spend a lot of time with my mom, and she can be a little strange and annoying sometimes, but I always know that she means well. My relationship with my dad can be…strained. He knows that I’m miserable living in Germany, and he’s the reason that we moved here, so there’s some lingering resentment there. However, in the end, they’re still my parents and I love them. My sister? My sister is my favorite person in the whole wide fucking world. I can talk to her for hours and we have so much fun together. As for my friends? I don’t think that I had any idea how vital they were to my well-being and to my personality until they weren’t there anymore. I’ll have to admit, as much as I hate to say it, I haven’t been entirely myself in the past two years. I’m a lot less strong and defiant than I used to be. I wish that it wasn’t the case, but I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don’t have the solid support that was always provided by my best friends. I’ve retreated a lot further into myself than I’d like without them.
What is your immediate response to conflict?
That depends on the type of conflict. If it’s confrontational and I’m involved in some type of argument, then I will give as good as I get and more. If someone tries to take a crack at me or blame me for something that’s not my fault, I will tell them that I don’t care, that they’re an ass and to fuck off. Simple as that. I’m not afraid to get into a debate with someone. I know that I can pretty much hold my own in most situations. However, if it’s more of an emotional conflict, I’m ashamed to admit that I let things fester and hold them all in until I drive myself completely mad for all of the worrying. Internalizing emotional problems is just something that I do often, instead of talking it out with someone, because I hate to seem weak in front of anyone else. I’d rather avoid pity, if you please.
Which of the four elements do you relate to the most?
I’m going to say mostly Air as it’s the element most strongly associated with communication and thought. My main aspiration in life is to eventually become a journalist and I’m very interested in the field of communications. I’ve always been fairly good at expressing myself and so this aspect of the element fits me. However, I also identify with fire to a certain extent because it’s the element which represents strong will, something which I’ve always had.
Would you say that you’re a child at heart, or that you have an old soul?
There was a moment where I was almost inclined to say a bit of both, but really, I’m more of an old soul. As mentioned previously, I’m fairly mature for my age(most of the time). Although, partly I think that that could just be general weariness and cynicism. I always feel so out of place amongst people my own age, and I have difficulty relating to them and their petty problems. In any case, I hold no childlike illusions about the world.
Give us a lyric that inspires you or describes you.
'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah
-Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve
This doesn’t so much describe me as it inspires me. It inspires me to strive for a life which is more than ordinary. I don’t want to wake up at 40 and wonder what the hell have I done with my life. I don’t want to let extraneous circumstances get me down. I need to, have to, want to accomplish my dreams. It’s the only way that I’ll ever be truly happy. I cannot stand tedium. Life is for living, as far as I’m concerned. The last thing I want is to end up as DWIGHT. Because you know what? He’s funny, but you don’t want to be him, am I right? Then you wind up with your stapler in jello, and that’s just not cool.
What was your favourite subject in school? What was your least favourite subject?
Well, I’m still in school. My english class is my favorite, but none of them really thrill me all that much, so I’m going to look to my tenth grade classes. During my first semester, I took a course called Global Issues and it was probably the best time that I’ve ever had in a classroom. It was myself, my friend Connor and then a whole bunch of seniors(it was an elective). A good portion of the time was just spend sitting around and discussing. We’d argue over points of view, have debates, watch Michael Moore films and just generally have a politics-related nerdy time. I also really enjoyed my publications class that year, which was my second semester elective. It had a lot of the same students in it. When the administrators took away the couch from the libarary, we protested by taking a couch which one of my classmates had liberated from a dumpster(basically, it was disgusting) and carrying it all the way down and stationing it in the middle of the main square. Everyone was basically all…wtf? We thought that it was hilarious. My least favorite? All of my courses now. I’m so pathetically serious. They are incredibly boring. There is zero interesting material going on over here, save the books that I’m reading in English. I don’t enjoy learning if I can’t be passionate about what it is that I’m studying. What I’m doing now is following a very strict and dehumanizing curriculum. BORING. Strict facts, dates, equations, blah blah blah. Whatever happened to original thought?
Did you have a teacher who inspired you? If so, who?
Did you ever have that teacher who always saw the potential in you to be capable and through that class, you were able to realize just how capable you really are? That’s what my global issues teacher was like. I’ve always been comfortable voicing my opinion, but on serious global topics in front of people older than me, I was left feeling a little nervous. As a result of my global issues teacher, who was awesome, dynamic and very Remus-like, I came into my own more. Oh, and my ninth grade English teacher. He is still one of my favorite people in the whole world. He’s just completely snarky and hilarious, and he let me get away with everything from swearing in class to throwing pencil cases at people. It was what I’d consider my first real English class(everything previous was a complete joke) and it was the first time that I was able to truly enjoy the subject.
The Harry Potter World
Which Harry Potter character is your least favourite?
I have quite a few bones to pick, so let’s start with Peter Pettigrew. Wormtail, you miserable swine. The thing about me is that my friends are like family to me, and I love them dearly. The fact is that I could never even fathom a situation where I would chose my life over theirs, and this is why my view on Pettigrew is absolutely unforgiving. Maybe he felt overshadowed by James and Sirius, but he never asserted himself. Life is what you make of it, and I don’t see any evidence of that whatsoever with him. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we just didn’t get to learn enough about him. However, I still think that he’s the most disgusting character in the entire series for betraying his best friends and letting Sirius take the fall for it. And can you imagine the subtle manipulation involved in the times prior to the Potters’ death? I’m quite sure that Sirius didn’t begin suspecting Remus of treason all on his own, someone must have been whispering convincingly into his ear. That just. No. No amount of reasoning will keep me from despising Wormtail.
Onwards and upwards. The Dursleys. In particular, Petunia Dursley. She does exactly what Snape does, which I find to be completely despicable. I know, I have some harsh adjectives going here. She projects her own hatred and grudge that she felt for the parent onto the innocent child. This is her sister’s child, and she treats him like dirt. Not only that, but she allows her idiot husband to fill Harry’s brain with all sorts of misconceptions when Vernon knows nothing that he’s talking about. All in all, the manner in which Harry was treated by his Aunt and Uncle just irritates me to no end.
Last but not least. Oh, Molly Weasley. I just don’t see the reason in her actions. I can understand wanting to protect Harry and her kids, especially seeing as she lost her brothers in the previous war, but keeping them in the dark hurt them far more. Ignorance is not bliss in the case of war. What was that line that Eowyn says in Lord of the Rings? “Those who cannot wield swords can still die upon them.” Especially considering how much danger Harry was in, he had the right to know what was going on. I’m also irked by how she feeds Ron’s inferiority complex rather than lessening it, along with treating Ginny like a child when Ginny has gone through darker times than Molly could ever have imagined. And yes, with a bit of character love bias, I hated how she treated Sirius. He was already in a poor situation, still trying to sort through the emotional trauma left by Azkaban while being confronted with his childhood trauma all the while trying to be the parent that Harry needed. And what did Molly do? She implied that he wasn’t necessary and that he was incapable of fulfilling said role.
Would you ever join any of the following organizations: the Order of the Phoenix, the Death Eaters or Dumbledore's Army? Why or why not?
I’m a bit torn between the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s Army. If I had been a student at Hogwarts during the time of Umbridge, I would have unquestionably joined Dumbledore’s Army. Umbridge needed to be stopped. She was a force to be reckoned with, but her rules were pointless, bureaucratic and hindered far more than they helped. However, practically, Dumbledore’s Army does not have nearly the resources and the capabilities that the Order of the Phoenix had. Give then I wanted to make a real difference, which I would, then the Order of the Phoenix would be my organization of choice. Why that particular set of ideologies? Well, for one, the notions being put forth by the Death Eaters are just illogical in the first place. Oh, let’s eliminate all of the Muggle-borns and Muggles so that we have a world filled with Purebloods. Yeah, let’s see you in a few decades when all of the detrimental problems of prolonged in-breeding really start to kick in. A whole Wizarding World filled with Vincent Crabbe. Not so great now, right? Yeah, thought so. Hello, Voldemort, meet my good friend Logic. And in all seriousness, their actions are so very against my fundamental beliefs on equality that I just couldn’t even fathom the thought.
What do you think your animagus would be? Why did you choose that animal?
To be perfectly honest, I was stamped as a Border Collie Animagus over at HiH. It’s a very cool form, and I understand why I was given that choice, because there’s something distinctly canine about me. However, dogs are a bit too…constantly active and happy to be me. I’m not like that. Nor am I friendly with most people. I feel that the form of a dog would be much more likely to be my Patronous, as I have such fond childhood memories of my dog. However, I think that it’s much more likely that my Animagus form would be that of the Grey Wolf. I’m very friends oriented, I love my close circle of friends very much. I think that that feeling could be related to the concept of a ‘Pack.’ However, I’m perfectly capable of being solitary if need be. Sometimes I just enjoy being solitary, it can be quite calming. Why the Grey Wolf? Well, because they’re found all over the world. And I haven’t the faintest clue where in the world I’m headed next.
What would your room of requirement look like?
First off, there would be one huge beautiful dark wood bookshelf filled with all of my favorite books and all of the books that I’ve always wanted to read and never had the time to do so. Then I would have another huge shelf, but this shelf would consist entirely of vinyl records. The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Myles Davis, Nina Simone and just about every other fantastic artist there is. Of course, there would have to be a turntable next to it. The other side of the room would be a combination of two places that I’m most comfortable. My best friend’s kitchen is a place where I’ve spent a lot of time goofing around. It’s a place where I feel comfortable. In addition, the added bonus of FOOD. The other half would be my own little living room with the 30 year old couch which needs desperate fixing but is oh so comfortable. These are all little tidbits of things that would add up to make me perfectly content. Of course, my friends would have to be there as well.
Who would be your favourite teacher at Hogwarts?
Remus Lupin, without a doubt. As someone who genuinely enjoys being a student and is a great lover of academia in general, I have come to realize that there is no worse way to learn in a class than if you dislike the teacher. Most people are purely unmotivated as a result. Perhaps the best thing about Remus as a teacher was how well his personality worked with the students. He was a kind but constructively critical teacher who appealed to them. We saw this with Neville, wherein his actions gave the normally trepidous Neville some confidence. In the 5th book, when Umbridge makes a snide comment about Remus, Dean Thomas immediately jumps to his defense, proving that his teaching skills were able to overcome the prejudice which plagues werewolves, at least in the case of Dean. Aside from being well liked, he's clearly very intelligent and he knows his stuff. The fact that his lessons were practical were the best suited lessons for a class like DADA. It's something you need to experience because theory is all very good and well, but you never know how you'll react in the moment. There’s just something very likable about him(to me), in how he is kind and caring but also has this fantastic little known devious side.
Who would you hang out with at Hogwarts?
I think that that depends on which era you’re referring to. If we’re referring to Harry’s time at Hogwarts, then the twins, unquestionably. They were the first characters that I fell in love with in the series. I have a tendency to get bogged down in the more frustrating details of daily life, and the twins seem like they would be great fun to be around to help me out of that. I like having a good time and I appreciate their sense of humor. In the same vein, I believe that I would have been friends with the Marauders. I might have even tolerated Peter, but Remus, James and Sirius I would have been friends with. Remus, I would bond with over a love of books and the fact that we both share a kind of unsuspecting irreverence and deviance. Sirius and James share my boisterous side. The side of me that likes to sing in public because you know that you’ll never see those people again, so who the fuck cares what they think of you? There’s also the sense that…well, my school is very confining. If I pulled any of the pranks that I want to pull, I would be suspended instantly even if it was a first time offense. Then it would go on my permanent record and colleges would be like wtf? What is this? And like I mentioned previously, I want to do something with my life. As a result, I don’t feel as if I have properly reveled in the beauty that is youthful delinquency. There seems to be far less consequences at Hogwarts other than petty detentions. I would relish that kind of freedom, and those mentioned above would be the perfect people to hang out with.
Who would be your enemy?
I think that Zacharias Smith would just frustrate me to no end. He reminds me of a guy from a previous school that I still hate. Unnecessarily pompous with nothing to show for it. Snape? I respect Snape as a character, but in reality, we might not get along too well. I can’t think of anyone else offhand though.