Name: Suzanne
Age: 16
AIM Screename ( if you have one ): sugarlilie13
Who referred you here - username and house, if possible:
satanseraph - Ravendor
1. Which of the Harry Potter books have you read? Which did you enjoy most?
I am proud to say I’ve read all six books. If I haven’t yet, I probably wouldn’t be here.
My favorite book has got to be Prisoner of Azkaban. Funny how that was my least favorite movie, but then again it could be since I hold the third book so near and dear that I hated every change that was made. But that is beside the point.
I’ve known forever, since first reading Prisoner of Azkaban, that it was my favorite. It is quite obvious as it is the most battered book in my collection from the many times I’ve read it. However, I’ve never really taken into consideration just why. It probably has to do with how it isn’t quite dark yet, but it is well enough into the series that the book isn’t swamped with introductions, and character development is really starting to take shape. I’m sure that the fourth book could have been my favorite as the Triwizard Tournament fascinated me to no end, but reading it as an 11-year-old the ending was too dark for me. With Volemort regaining a body and power, and our poor beloved Cedric dying, it’s not just rainbow and bunnies anymore. After reading it once when it came out, I didn’t touch it until just before the release of Order of the Phoenix. By that time, PoA had already claimed its spot as my favorite.
Okay, I know I’m running long and I really haven’t gotten to the point, so here it is. I love the insight the books gives to Harry’s past, or rather, his parents’ history. Everything about the Marauders (save Peter) is so much fun to read about. My first time reading it through, I remember the suspense that continually built up in regards to Sirius. I always wanted him to turn out as the good guy since he was James’s best friend, and that is exactly what happened. Watching (or just reading about) the strength Harry finds within himself is lifting and I adore how bonded the threesome becomes as they overcome many obstacles together, from fights to emotional breakdowns. I probably can go on with this for another few paragraphs, but I’ll end with "I love PoA through and through".
2. How do you feel about Voldemort as a character? (Not as a person.)
This question is hard for me since Voldemort pretty much has been just the evil villain that the world must be rid of. Nevertheless, I think the thing that I really like about his character is how similar he is to Harry. They are both orphans and throughout their childhood, neither child really knew what it was like to be truly loved. Unlike Harry, who does discover that there are people who care for him and that he can care for as well, poor Voldemort (yes, I pity him) never does since he distanced himself. He tragically is unable to understand what love really is, which I believe makes it fitting for the source of his downfall to be from love. It is the similarities in situations with Harry, yet stark differences in beliefs that make Voldemort, in my mind, the appropriate villain for our dashing hero.
3. Which Harry Potter character can you most relate to? (In the sense of personality, intelligence, character traits, etc.)
The character I feel I can relate to the most is young Lupin. Like him, I am very reserved. To those who don’t know me that well, I am very quiet and shy. However, Lupin has his wild side (and I don’t just mean when he is a werewolf). When he is with his friends, he becomes bolder and he is even up for rule breaking. By myself, I am a total goody two shoes. If there is a rule, I’ll follow it. I even have the tendency to freak out about being late to class and wind up there 2 or 3 minutes before the bell even rings. Among my friends, though, a whole new side of me is unleashed. Instead of the quiet rule follower, I’m more fun, goofy and sometimes even daring.
Dumbledore had made Lupin a prefect in hopes of having him hold a tight leash on the unruly pair of James and Sirius. Obviously, this hadn’t worked as Lupin would join in himself. I, too, often get talked into mischief. Although my friends and I never went as far as the Marauders did on their escapades, there are some instances where we’d bend the rules together. Another similarity that I share with Lupin is his intelligence. As intelligent as he is, he isn’t one to really flaunt it, but it is known. I deem myself the same way. No matter how bright (or not so bright…) I am, you probably won’t hear it from me.
4. Who is your favorite Harry Potter character? Least favorite?
Although there isn’t as much to go by compared to other characters, obviously since she is dead, my favorite character is Lily. My alias, Sugarlily, even includes her name (which I can assure you is purely coincidental. The ‘lily’ part actually comes from the fact that my real name, Suzanne, means lily and they are one of my favorite flowers. ^^;) Her true inner strength is really what draws me in. She is very loving and caring to all. Despite everything, Lily finds it in her heart to accept and care for everyone. When James and Sirius would pick on Snape, it was Lily who would step in and stick up for poor Snape. This immense love Lily is capable of also shows itself when she saves baby Harry from Voldemort at the cost of her life. It is this love and courage that really makes Lily shine. I also admire her sheer intelligence. She excels at all that she tries. She is also very poised and independent. It takes James six years to get her to go out with him because she believed he was pompous despite his popularity. And if that isn’t good enough, she ends up happily married to a great guy, although sadly not for long enough.
It is hard for me to choose a least favorite character as J.K. Rowling is a master at creating very round characters. There is always something to like in a character, no matter how evil he/she is. Now I could go the easy way and choose the obvious characters to dislike-like Umbridge, Malfoy, or the ever popular Peter-but I’m not sure if they are my least favorite.
As of right now, I think it just might be Fudge. I can’t say for sure that he is my LEAST favorite, but as a ‘traitorous’ character in OotP, he definitely is on my list. One thing that irks me about him is the fact that I never expected him to turn his back on Harry, Dumbledore, and the rest of the magical community by promoting his denial of Voldemort’s return. Throughout the previous books, he had been such a jovial and well-natured man that I couldn’t help but like him. Then to see him attack all those who believed Harry and Dumbledore’s word was a huge blow. He cared more about his reputation than anyone else. He was willing to sever ties from those he once depended on just to look good. That really disappoints me. Sure, he came to his senses once there was undeniable proof right in front of his eyes, but the damage was already done by then.
5. What thing, event, or person has had the most impact in your life? (Please don't use yourself because you can't think of someone/something else. Think hard!)
My birth, of course! Okay, that’s a given, so I’ll have to go with my mom. With my dad always working, she has done most of the parenting. Over the years, my mom has become somewhat like my best friend. I love spending time with her as we’d have little outings together to the mall or whatnot. I pretty much tell her everything from gossip I get in school to when I fail a test. I can always count on her to listen and support me. She is always there to cheer me on in whatever I do and it is that unwavering faith in me that keeps me going. She was never one to really push me, but knowing that she’ll constantly have my back, so to say, I am able to push forward myself to reach my potential head high.
6. What makes a friendship valuable to you?
A friendship that is very valuable to me is one where I find a connection. Not just a ‘they like the same things that I do’ kind, but one where we understand each other and care for each other. It has to be someone that I feel very comfortable with and not afraid to let loose(like teasing them or making a complete fool of myself) knowing that whatever I do, that friend will still be by my side.
Trust is also a major factor since without it, there really isn’t a friendship in my opinion. I can have fun and joke around with acquaintances, but when it comes to hard times, my true and valuable friends are those I trust to be there and not turn against me despite the circumstances.
7. If you had a hero (real or literary) who would it be? (Please keep in mind that we're asking IF you had one, and again please don't use yourself because you can't think of someone else. Be creative!)
Ever since I was young, I’ve always admired my older cousin, Julie. I didn’t get to see her very often since we lived hundreds of miles apart, so I only saw the very best in her. Despite the fact that looking back on things, I may have put her on too high of a pedestal, I still hold the perfect illusion of my cousin that I saw years ago. My cousin had been, to me, the nicest, funniest, and smartest person I’d ever known. She never failed to put a smile on my face. If it wasn’t some silly story she was telling, it was some fun and creative game she made up to play. Because my cousin always knew how to make things fun, I loved being with her and wanted to be just like her. I would work hard in school to be as smart as her and even went as far as sitting down with a sample of her handwriting and spending hours trying to write just like her. My cousin was that ultimate goal and for years I tried to reach it.
Unfortunately, due to extenuating circumstances, we have pretty much lost contact, and over the years I’ve drifted from that phase to follow my own path. However, her past ‘spirit’ still is my hero because of how much she has inspired me years ago and, in a way, keeps me reaching today. Besides, she practically saved my life when I carelessly tried to run across a busy street (I was only 3 years old), and she ran out to pull me back before I was in the direct path of a car. What more can constitute as a hero than someone who tried to save my life?
8. What are your personal aspirations for your future?
My hopes in the near future are to find a well-matched college for myself and make it in. I want to be able to make the most out of college and the first step is to find the right one. It doesn’t have to be some prestigious Ivy League school that I somehow miraculously made it in to-although a part of me kind of wishes that would happen-but I want to find a place where I can fit in and be comfortable. I sometimes do make a huge deal out of college especially since I’m so indecisive, but ultimately what college I end up going to will become the center of at least four years of my life and it will be what guides me towards the future.
Further down the line, I hope to find myself happily married and working at a job that I love. Although I do hope to get married, happily is the keyword. I’m not so adamant about spending the rest of my life with somebody that I’d take any willing guy. If I haven’t found the perfect match, I’m better off single. But you just wait. I have faith that I will find him. As for my career, I’m not exactly sure what it is that I want to do. So far, all I know is that I want to do something in the medical field since science interests me. What exactly, though, I have yet to figure out. Whatever it is that I end up becoming, the most important thing is that it is satisfying to me and I’m paid enough to live comfortably. I would hate to live paycheck by paycheck.
9. What are your most prominent personality traits, good or bad? Which one do you feel best defines who you are as a person?
Lazy, but Hardworking: As a rule of thumb, I usually don’t do more than necessary, but when it is something that I want, I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it. Proof? Well, the majority of this application was done when I should have been studying for my finals, but was too lazy to. Even though, my grades are still good since I’ve worked very hard throughout the semester to have decent grades going into the finals and have learned enough along the way so that complete cramming wasn’t necessary. A goal of mine has been to become valedictorian and there is no way I’d still be in the running as a junior in IB if I didn’t work hard.
Fun-loving:Whatever it is I am doing, I have to have fun. I love being with the people that I love, since being with them is, well…fun! When I’m alone, I’m still always entertaining myself. I hate reading boring textbooks so when I have to, I’ll read it out loud in some silly accent or sing it. Oftentimes when I’m working on something, I’m singing some sort of song with really annoys my brothers since-I admit-I sound terrible. But that doesn’t matter since it makes things more fun when they are annoyed as I sing even louder.
Caring:Caring for people is somewhat second nature for me. It makes me sad to see others sad. I really want to do something to make them feel better. I’m constantly considerate of others feelings. The one thing I hate the most is being the one to put down others, whether I meant to or not.
Scatterbrained and Spontaneous: If you haven’t picked up on it already, I repeatedly stray off topic. I’m often all over the place and random in what I say, do, and think. Sometimes this is fine since it makes life much more interesting, but there are times when it causes me to do or say stupid things spontaneously and embarrass myself. I have a bad habit of not thinking before doing things and often klutz out. Although I’m Chinese and don’t have a single blonde hair on my head (yeah, you know where this is going…) my friends still say I’m a total blonde at times. Not to mention there was a time in Spanish class when I did accidentally announce to everyone I was blonde (in Spanish, of course).
Modest: I’m sure it’s not very evident from this application, but I despise bragging about myself. In combination with my low self-esteem, which everyone says I have-I claim that it’s because they have too much faith in me-I rarely say anything good about myself. I’m more likely to put myself down.
Impatient: I’m terrible at waiting. This is one of the reasons I’m so excited about driving myself to school: I don’t have to wait to be picked up. On the days that I stay after school, I have to wait alone. During this time, I’ll pace and constantly oscillate from looking at my watch and whatever direction my mom should be coming from. It’s no doubt that once I submit this, I’ll be checking back every 5 minutes to see if anyone has sorted me.
I’m not sure if I totally get the second part of the question, but personally, I don’t think I can pick just one trait to describe me. If there was a trait that combined all those mentioned above, that might just work.
10. What house combination do you feel you're most like? Least like? (This is not pushing. It shows whether or not you are self-aware and may not have an influence on the voting process.)
I really don’t know what house combination would fit me best, but I think I’ll have to go with Ravenpuff. The Ravenclaw part is evident to me since I have a habit of identifying myself through my intelligence. Out of the other three houses, I think Hufflepuff is the closest fitting. Ideally, that would mean that I’d least be like a Slytherdor. Through process of elimination, I believe this is true. I don’t think I am cunning or deceiving enough to fit in the guidelines of a Slytherin and I consider myself much too much of a chicken to be a brave Gryffindor. I shall leave it up to all of your capable sorting abilities to determine the best house for me. I’m sure I’ll be happy wherever you place me.
11. Why should we not squib you?
I’d like to feel a sense of belonging here, although if squibed, I guess I’d belong with the Squibs. Actually, I really don’t know why you shouldn’t squib me. All that I’ve written here is me and I can’t change that. If you can’t see a good house where I’d belong, then by all means Squib me. (Please don’t take this as general permission to Squib me just because. There has to be a reason.) If squibed, I won’t hold it against anyone. Honestly, I’ll feel a bit upset-especially after all the work I’ve put into filling this out-and wonder if there was anything I could have changed that would give me the edge I needed to make it, but I’d get over it. Hopefully, though, I won’t have to.