Mollycoddling
NAME: Jenn
AGE: 15
TIMEZONE: GMT-8 or GMT-7, depending on if there's Daylight Savings or not.
01. Have you ever been sorted into a Harry Potter sorting community on LiveJournal?
Yes.
02. If you answered "yes" to number one, which Hogwarts house were you sorted into? Also, if you can, please provide a link to your application.
These are from most recent to oldest - and as a note, just so I don't get called on identity theft or something shooting__stars was my old journal:
Ravenclaw at hat_sorting ( link )
Gryffindor at hr_sorting ( link )
Ravenclaw at platform_934 ( link )
Hufflepuff at hogwarts_ch ( link )
Hufflepuff at sorting_elite ( link )
03. How did you find this community? If you were referred by someone else, please state their LJ name (and, if possible, their camp).
I found it from a LiveJournal interest search for "sorting," and I decided to apply because I recognized a lot of people whose usernames looked familiar from hogwarts_elite.:)
04. Why would you be an addition to either the Order of the Phoenix or the Death Eaters? In which subcommunities could you be a valuable asset? (consider your strengths and weaknesses in graphics, roleplaying and discussion, sorting, your interests, and your availability)
I enjoy making graphics, and I would like to think that I'm good at them. If you want examples, you can always see my icon journal, which is located at iconperfect. I also have a shop at hogwarts_elite, if that says anything at all about my graphics. But either way, I do enjoy making graphics a lot and I think I could definitely contribute in that aspect.
I don't really roleplay, though I've been kind of wanting to try it. However, I do enjoy intelligent HP discussion with other people, especially speculation about the seventh book. I love debating with people and I would also try to participate here.
I am usually pretty good at sorting people, and I know I would enjoy sorting people here as much as I do in my other sorting communities.
And last but not least, since it's summer, I'm on the computer way too much, so I'll definitely have plenty of time to participate.
05. Make a paragraph-long highlight summary of both the Order’s and the Death Eaters’ characteristics and doctrine. Each paragraph should be no longer than ten lines.
ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: I always see the Order as more passive because it was formed in response to Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The Order of the Phoenix doesn't have anything it actually actively wants to do, just to stop Voldemort and to save the world from evil. I don't think I could describe all the members of the Order without stereotyping; the only thing they seem to have in common is that they want to stop evil. They respect Muggles, Muggle-borns, half-bloods, pure-bloods, squibs, whatever; they are accepting. I mean, you have all sorts of people: passionate, inspiring, brave, like Dumbledore, for example, cunning and sly like Mundungus. They don't even have to be wizards, eg, Mrs. Figg. But to generalize a little bit, Order members are for the most part, brave, bold, and willing to fight until death for the sake of good. They are loyal to their cause. They must also be secretive, because of course their plans need to be kept secret.
DEATH EATERS: In contrast, I see the Death Eaters and Voldemort as more active, because they are the ones who want to change the world. Death Eaters value pureblood wizards over anyone else. They think very lowly of half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and Muggles, and they are devoted to "purifying" the wizards. Some Death Eaters are loyal, but I wouldn't say all. I think that Death Eaters seem to be more perpetuated by fear, especially of Voldemort. For example, when Voldemort was almost killed by Harry and all his followers thought that he was dead, almost all of them immediately turned back to the "good" side and pretended that it wasn't their fault that they were a Death Eater, many I think out of fear of being sent to Azkaban. The Death Eaters also seem to be very manipulative, always using other people for their own benefit.
06. Identify yourself with one (ex)-Order Member and one Death Eater, and explain your choices.
ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: Remus Lupin.
When he was at Hogwarts, out of the four Marauders he was the one who stayed most within the boundaries and followed the rules. I am like that too; I always hesistate to break rules. He was a prefect, but he didn't like to tell James and Sirius when they were too out of line because they were his friends. I can relate to this because my teachers usually like me, but when I'm with some of my less obedient friends, I always feel kind of badly for not behaving as well or telling them to behave better. J.K. Rowling also says this about Lupin, which is something I can definitely relate to: "Lupin’s failing is he likes to be liked. That’s where he slips up - he’s been disliked so often he’s always pleased to have friends so cuts them an awful lot of slack" (from this interview). I have this need to please people a lot, and it means a lot to me when someone sees me as a good friend.
DEATH EATERS: Severus Snape.
At Hogwarts, Snape was teased a lot, and I can certainly identify with that because while I wasn't unpopular and I did have friends, I was still teased (wasn't everyone, though? ;D). But what makes it hit so close to home is that I really, really cared when people called me names or were mean to me. He also seems to be quite secretive and good at manipulating people. I'm good at keeping secrets - I'm a good listener and don't spill my or anyone else's secrets. I'm not good at manipulating people, especially on that level, but what I will say is that I'm good at getting along with everyone, which is sort of like Snape because he is on good terms with both the Order and the Death Eaters.
07. Which emotion are you least able to control? Please explain. (This can be a "positive" or "negative" emotion.)
I couldn't decide between anger or envy, because even though I tell myself not to become angry or jealous, I do. But, I think in the end envy wins out. I do get angry really easily, but I can control that emotion - in a way. I just isolate myself from people for a while and it goes away, eventually. But it's not something I can control directly, which is what made me consider it in the first place.
However, I don't seem to be able to do that with jealousy. I'm an extremely competitive person, and if I see someone better than me at something, I immediately get jealous. Even if I tell myself not to be jealous, that said person worked hard for what he/she has and I didn't, I can't get the feeling to go away. This is especially hard when I'm with my friends. I see my friend receive an award for something, and even if it's something I'm not even interested in, I wonder, well, why didn't I get that award, because I want it. But even though I can control my envy so that I can at least pretend to be happy for them (and feel quite badly about pretending to do so, along the way), I can't actually make it go away, which leads me to choose this for my answer.
08. What are three of your best talents? (You are encouraged to think beyond the physical for at least two of your answers.)
I'm tactful. I'm good at getting along with everyone - I'm quite good at minding my P's and Q's. ;) I can usually tell if someone is mad at or annoyed with me, even if they're trying not to show it. I can tell if someone wants me to talk less, talk more, talk louder, shut up, etc. I really value that skill, or instinct, because it saves me from trouble and because it helps me get along with everyone, or at least avoid any potential drama with people, even those whom I don't like as much. And I'm really the type of person who hates drama and would go to far lengths to avoid it.
Also, I'm so extremely analytical it might even be annoying. I try to analyze everything before I jump to conclusions. However, I tend to over-analyze things sometimes. I somehow find hidden meaning that's not there, or something of that sort. As an example: after I have a conversation with someone, sometimes I go back through them in my head, just to make sure I didn't miss anything and just to make sure that how I think they feel about me is indeed how they feel about me - no sarcasm, lies, etc. But while I do make mistakes sometimes in analyzing things such as finding hidden meaning where there is none, most of the time analyzing things helps me not jump to wrong conclusions.
Lastly, I'm good at test taking. I'm not sure if this talent is too specific, or if it even is a talent, but I value it, so here goes. Maybe it's a result of my obsession with getting good grades, but I always hear about people who do so well on practice tests but then choke up during the actual test. Well, I seem to be the opposite. Usually, I don't do that well on practice tests because I know it doesn't count and therefore am a little more careless. However, during the actual test, I know it counts, so I try harder and end up doing better.
09. What are three qualities of an ideal leader, and why? Please describe a person (literary, historical, etc.) who exemplifies these characteristics.
An ideal leader has to be popular. I know a lot of people don't believe that popularity is worth much, and complain that school elections and such are unfair that way, but I think that popularity is important. If we lived in an ideal world, maybe popularity and appealing to the public would not be so much a concern as competency and what the leader would actually do to be a good leader, but since we aren't that perfect society, popularity is a key factor. I don't think any ideal leader could accomplish anything without popularity. The people could even overthrow him. To become popular, a leader has to know how to appeal to the public. If the public does not support him, he wouldn't be able to get anything done, and as a result would have no control over the people. He must know the wants and needs of the public. Of course, he could always use fear to gain control, but alas, that is far from my vision of an ideal leader.
Also, in my previous paragraph I was not arguing that competence was not important; I do think it is indeed. A good leader needs to be able to get things done. That sounds easy, but there are people I know who say they'll do things but never end up getting around to doing them, be it for time reasons or just poor memory. An ideal leader has to do everything he promises to do, and not make empty promises. He wouldn't give up on something because it's hard to do; instead, he will try his best to do it.
Finally, an ideal leader has to be intelligent. Of course, you can't expect someone who is not intelligent to make intelligent decisions. Being a leader inevitably leads to making important decisions to do what is right for the people. If a leader is intelligent, he will be able to make the right decision, especially in times of crisis.
And as for the last part of the question, ha, I knew I should have paid attention more in history! But I think I would have to choose Queen Elizabeth I of England. (So, I will take this time to say that even though in the above paragraphs I used masculine pronouns, of course a female could be an ideal leader too! I just wanted to avoid any... awkwardness in reading.) Anyway. Queen Elizabeth's rule is sometimes referred to as the Golden Age, and rightfully so. She was definitely a popular queen. She knew how to, well, I don't want to say manipulate because that seems to carry with it a negative connotation, but manipulate people to her advantage. For example, when she received many marriage offers after become Queen, she used them to help England but not actually marrying anyone. She also is very competent. She even defeated the mighty Spanish Armada. Well, it wasn't her exactly, but it was under her rule. Lastly, to accomplish all the things she has accomplished as Queen, she would have had to be intelligent. I don't think that anyone who was stupid could actually acheive all those things.
(Thanks to this site, this site, and this site for some of the information on Queen Elizabeth I.)
10. Would you ever "switch sides" in a situation? If so, under which conditions? Examples/hypothetical scenarios will be helpful!
I would like to say no, but yes. First of all, I hardly ever trust my own decisions and come back to question them a lot. But even if I were relatively sure that my decision to choose a particular side was the right choice, I still would switch sides in special situations. For example, if I were debating with someone, and I suddenly saw that their argument was way more believable and backed with good facts and that my argument was not as good, or that what they were saying were more true than I originally thought I would definitely switch my point of view. I also switch sides a lot when I'm watching sports. If the team I'm orignally rooting for is losing, I can't help but switch sides because I don't know, I hate siding with the losing team.
11. If placed on a mission, would you rather operate alone, with a friend, with a small group of friends or with a large force, and why?
I would rather operate alone, maybe with one friend at most. That's because I usually like to keep friends and business separate, which is something I learned from doing countless group projects in school. I love my friends a lot, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather not work with them. That's because I find that inevitably we end up disagreeing on something, and it just seems to cause unnecessary tension. I'd rather not lose a friendship over something like this, so I'd rather work alone. However, I did consider working with one friend because it might be helpful, but I just like to avoid any potential problems.
With a stranger whom my boss trusted, perhaps, but then again, I personally might not trust him/her. And that's not even one of the choices, so I'll stop thinking aloud.
12. Would you rather be convicted of betrayal of your peers, or betrayal of your family, and why?
Definitely betrayal of my peers. This one was easy for me to answer because you can always find new friends. However, your family is your family, and where else are you going to find people who share your blook and DNA? If you don't like your friends, you can always find new ones, but if you don't like your family, you can't just become someone totally different. You're stuck with your family for the rest of your life, and no matter how much you might want to betray them, it's not like you can replace them, so you might as well be good to them.
13. Write a short call to action for a modern social or political cause you support. (Please refrain from using Harry Potter situations!)
Before I start, I just want to say that I know these issues can be controversial, but I don't want to offend anyone with what I say here.
On censorship: I'm against it.
I live in the USA, and it's actually fairly nice here, but I know it's not like this everywhere in the world. I don't see what's wrong with spreading your ideas or saying what you want to say. You may influence people, but it's not like you can force people to see things the way you do. I might read something controversial in an online blog, but it's not necessarily going to change my view. The things people tend to want censored are just another way of expressing things, and even if it is controversial, I don't see how you can put a limit on freedom of expression. You can strongly discourage someone from doing or saying something, but I don't think it's right to force someone to stop doing something. It just doesn't seem like much use. Maybe some, but not that much. If someone feels strongly about something, censoring them isn't going to change their mind, and not censoring them doesn't mean that they will change other people's minds.
Thanks for reading!
AGE: 15
TIMEZONE: GMT-8 or GMT-7, depending on if there's Daylight Savings or not.
01. Have you ever been sorted into a Harry Potter sorting community on LiveJournal?
Yes.
02. If you answered "yes" to number one, which Hogwarts house were you sorted into? Also, if you can, please provide a link to your application.
These are from most recent to oldest - and as a note, just so I don't get called on identity theft or something shooting__stars was my old journal:
Ravenclaw at hat_sorting ( link )
Gryffindor at hr_sorting ( link )
Ravenclaw at platform_934 ( link )
Hufflepuff at hogwarts_ch ( link )
Hufflepuff at sorting_elite ( link )
03. How did you find this community? If you were referred by someone else, please state their LJ name (and, if possible, their camp).
I found it from a LiveJournal interest search for "sorting," and I decided to apply because I recognized a lot of people whose usernames looked familiar from hogwarts_elite.:)
04. Why would you be an addition to either the Order of the Phoenix or the Death Eaters? In which subcommunities could you be a valuable asset? (consider your strengths and weaknesses in graphics, roleplaying and discussion, sorting, your interests, and your availability)
I enjoy making graphics, and I would like to think that I'm good at them. If you want examples, you can always see my icon journal, which is located at iconperfect. I also have a shop at hogwarts_elite, if that says anything at all about my graphics. But either way, I do enjoy making graphics a lot and I think I could definitely contribute in that aspect.
I don't really roleplay, though I've been kind of wanting to try it. However, I do enjoy intelligent HP discussion with other people, especially speculation about the seventh book. I love debating with people and I would also try to participate here.
I am usually pretty good at sorting people, and I know I would enjoy sorting people here as much as I do in my other sorting communities.
And last but not least, since it's summer, I'm on the computer way too much, so I'll definitely have plenty of time to participate.
05. Make a paragraph-long highlight summary of both the Order’s and the Death Eaters’ characteristics and doctrine. Each paragraph should be no longer than ten lines.
ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: I always see the Order as more passive because it was formed in response to Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The Order of the Phoenix doesn't have anything it actually actively wants to do, just to stop Voldemort and to save the world from evil. I don't think I could describe all the members of the Order without stereotyping; the only thing they seem to have in common is that they want to stop evil. They respect Muggles, Muggle-borns, half-bloods, pure-bloods, squibs, whatever; they are accepting. I mean, you have all sorts of people: passionate, inspiring, brave, like Dumbledore, for example, cunning and sly like Mundungus. They don't even have to be wizards, eg, Mrs. Figg. But to generalize a little bit, Order members are for the most part, brave, bold, and willing to fight until death for the sake of good. They are loyal to their cause. They must also be secretive, because of course their plans need to be kept secret.
DEATH EATERS: In contrast, I see the Death Eaters and Voldemort as more active, because they are the ones who want to change the world. Death Eaters value pureblood wizards over anyone else. They think very lowly of half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and Muggles, and they are devoted to "purifying" the wizards. Some Death Eaters are loyal, but I wouldn't say all. I think that Death Eaters seem to be more perpetuated by fear, especially of Voldemort. For example, when Voldemort was almost killed by Harry and all his followers thought that he was dead, almost all of them immediately turned back to the "good" side and pretended that it wasn't their fault that they were a Death Eater, many I think out of fear of being sent to Azkaban. The Death Eaters also seem to be very manipulative, always using other people for their own benefit.
06. Identify yourself with one (ex)-Order Member and one Death Eater, and explain your choices.
ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: Remus Lupin.
When he was at Hogwarts, out of the four Marauders he was the one who stayed most within the boundaries and followed the rules. I am like that too; I always hesistate to break rules. He was a prefect, but he didn't like to tell James and Sirius when they were too out of line because they were his friends. I can relate to this because my teachers usually like me, but when I'm with some of my less obedient friends, I always feel kind of badly for not behaving as well or telling them to behave better. J.K. Rowling also says this about Lupin, which is something I can definitely relate to: "Lupin’s failing is he likes to be liked. That’s where he slips up - he’s been disliked so often he’s always pleased to have friends so cuts them an awful lot of slack" (from this interview). I have this need to please people a lot, and it means a lot to me when someone sees me as a good friend.
DEATH EATERS: Severus Snape.
At Hogwarts, Snape was teased a lot, and I can certainly identify with that because while I wasn't unpopular and I did have friends, I was still teased (wasn't everyone, though? ;D). But what makes it hit so close to home is that I really, really cared when people called me names or were mean to me. He also seems to be quite secretive and good at manipulating people. I'm good at keeping secrets - I'm a good listener and don't spill my or anyone else's secrets. I'm not good at manipulating people, especially on that level, but what I will say is that I'm good at getting along with everyone, which is sort of like Snape because he is on good terms with both the Order and the Death Eaters.
07. Which emotion are you least able to control? Please explain. (This can be a "positive" or "negative" emotion.)
I couldn't decide between anger or envy, because even though I tell myself not to become angry or jealous, I do. But, I think in the end envy wins out. I do get angry really easily, but I can control that emotion - in a way. I just isolate myself from people for a while and it goes away, eventually. But it's not something I can control directly, which is what made me consider it in the first place.
However, I don't seem to be able to do that with jealousy. I'm an extremely competitive person, and if I see someone better than me at something, I immediately get jealous. Even if I tell myself not to be jealous, that said person worked hard for what he/she has and I didn't, I can't get the feeling to go away. This is especially hard when I'm with my friends. I see my friend receive an award for something, and even if it's something I'm not even interested in, I wonder, well, why didn't I get that award, because I want it. But even though I can control my envy so that I can at least pretend to be happy for them (and feel quite badly about pretending to do so, along the way), I can't actually make it go away, which leads me to choose this for my answer.
08. What are three of your best talents? (You are encouraged to think beyond the physical for at least two of your answers.)
I'm tactful. I'm good at getting along with everyone - I'm quite good at minding my P's and Q's. ;) I can usually tell if someone is mad at or annoyed with me, even if they're trying not to show it. I can tell if someone wants me to talk less, talk more, talk louder, shut up, etc. I really value that skill, or instinct, because it saves me from trouble and because it helps me get along with everyone, or at least avoid any potential drama with people, even those whom I don't like as much. And I'm really the type of person who hates drama and would go to far lengths to avoid it.
Also, I'm so extremely analytical it might even be annoying. I try to analyze everything before I jump to conclusions. However, I tend to over-analyze things sometimes. I somehow find hidden meaning that's not there, or something of that sort. As an example: after I have a conversation with someone, sometimes I go back through them in my head, just to make sure I didn't miss anything and just to make sure that how I think they feel about me is indeed how they feel about me - no sarcasm, lies, etc. But while I do make mistakes sometimes in analyzing things such as finding hidden meaning where there is none, most of the time analyzing things helps me not jump to wrong conclusions.
Lastly, I'm good at test taking. I'm not sure if this talent is too specific, or if it even is a talent, but I value it, so here goes. Maybe it's a result of my obsession with getting good grades, but I always hear about people who do so well on practice tests but then choke up during the actual test. Well, I seem to be the opposite. Usually, I don't do that well on practice tests because I know it doesn't count and therefore am a little more careless. However, during the actual test, I know it counts, so I try harder and end up doing better.
09. What are three qualities of an ideal leader, and why? Please describe a person (literary, historical, etc.) who exemplifies these characteristics.
An ideal leader has to be popular. I know a lot of people don't believe that popularity is worth much, and complain that school elections and such are unfair that way, but I think that popularity is important. If we lived in an ideal world, maybe popularity and appealing to the public would not be so much a concern as competency and what the leader would actually do to be a good leader, but since we aren't that perfect society, popularity is a key factor. I don't think any ideal leader could accomplish anything without popularity. The people could even overthrow him. To become popular, a leader has to know how to appeal to the public. If the public does not support him, he wouldn't be able to get anything done, and as a result would have no control over the people. He must know the wants and needs of the public. Of course, he could always use fear to gain control, but alas, that is far from my vision of an ideal leader.
Also, in my previous paragraph I was not arguing that competence was not important; I do think it is indeed. A good leader needs to be able to get things done. That sounds easy, but there are people I know who say they'll do things but never end up getting around to doing them, be it for time reasons or just poor memory. An ideal leader has to do everything he promises to do, and not make empty promises. He wouldn't give up on something because it's hard to do; instead, he will try his best to do it.
Finally, an ideal leader has to be intelligent. Of course, you can't expect someone who is not intelligent to make intelligent decisions. Being a leader inevitably leads to making important decisions to do what is right for the people. If a leader is intelligent, he will be able to make the right decision, especially in times of crisis.
And as for the last part of the question, ha, I knew I should have paid attention more in history! But I think I would have to choose Queen Elizabeth I of England. (So, I will take this time to say that even though in the above paragraphs I used masculine pronouns, of course a female could be an ideal leader too! I just wanted to avoid any... awkwardness in reading.) Anyway. Queen Elizabeth's rule is sometimes referred to as the Golden Age, and rightfully so. She was definitely a popular queen. She knew how to, well, I don't want to say manipulate because that seems to carry with it a negative connotation, but manipulate people to her advantage. For example, when she received many marriage offers after become Queen, she used them to help England but not actually marrying anyone. She also is very competent. She even defeated the mighty Spanish Armada. Well, it wasn't her exactly, but it was under her rule. Lastly, to accomplish all the things she has accomplished as Queen, she would have had to be intelligent. I don't think that anyone who was stupid could actually acheive all those things.
(Thanks to this site, this site, and this site for some of the information on Queen Elizabeth I.)
10. Would you ever "switch sides" in a situation? If so, under which conditions? Examples/hypothetical scenarios will be helpful!
I would like to say no, but yes. First of all, I hardly ever trust my own decisions and come back to question them a lot. But even if I were relatively sure that my decision to choose a particular side was the right choice, I still would switch sides in special situations. For example, if I were debating with someone, and I suddenly saw that their argument was way more believable and backed with good facts and that my argument was not as good, or that what they were saying were more true than I originally thought I would definitely switch my point of view. I also switch sides a lot when I'm watching sports. If the team I'm orignally rooting for is losing, I can't help but switch sides because I don't know, I hate siding with the losing team.
11. If placed on a mission, would you rather operate alone, with a friend, with a small group of friends or with a large force, and why?
I would rather operate alone, maybe with one friend at most. That's because I usually like to keep friends and business separate, which is something I learned from doing countless group projects in school. I love my friends a lot, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather not work with them. That's because I find that inevitably we end up disagreeing on something, and it just seems to cause unnecessary tension. I'd rather not lose a friendship over something like this, so I'd rather work alone. However, I did consider working with one friend because it might be helpful, but I just like to avoid any potential problems.
With a stranger whom my boss trusted, perhaps, but then again, I personally might not trust him/her. And that's not even one of the choices, so I'll stop thinking aloud.
12. Would you rather be convicted of betrayal of your peers, or betrayal of your family, and why?
Definitely betrayal of my peers. This one was easy for me to answer because you can always find new friends. However, your family is your family, and where else are you going to find people who share your blook and DNA? If you don't like your friends, you can always find new ones, but if you don't like your family, you can't just become someone totally different. You're stuck with your family for the rest of your life, and no matter how much you might want to betray them, it's not like you can replace them, so you might as well be good to them.
13. Write a short call to action for a modern social or political cause you support. (Please refrain from using Harry Potter situations!)
Before I start, I just want to say that I know these issues can be controversial, but I don't want to offend anyone with what I say here.
On censorship: I'm against it.
I live in the USA, and it's actually fairly nice here, but I know it's not like this everywhere in the world. I don't see what's wrong with spreading your ideas or saying what you want to say. You may influence people, but it's not like you can force people to see things the way you do. I might read something controversial in an online blog, but it's not necessarily going to change my view. The things people tend to want censored are just another way of expressing things, and even if it is controversial, I don't see how you can put a limit on freedom of expression. You can strongly discourage someone from doing or saying something, but I don't think it's right to force someone to stop doing something. It just doesn't seem like much use. Maybe some, but not that much. If someone feels strongly about something, censoring them isn't going to change their mind, and not censoring them doesn't mean that they will change other people's minds.
Thanks for reading!