The Giver by Lois Lowery
Name: Mallory
Age: 24
Gender: Female
1. Give us reasons for and against you being sorted into each house.
a. Gryffindor
For: I fight for my beliefs, and have to be given cold hard facts to be persuaded into believing something else. My religious beliefs are a great example of this. I believe there is a higher power, that Jesus is the savior, but I just simply cannot accept that God would punish someone over their sexual orientation, and I will stand on my soap box and preach that all day long. You can show me every verse in The Bible that says it's wrong and I just cannot and will not accept it.
I do sincerely believe "to each their own," and I wish more people thought this way. I think there is more bravery in saying you disagree with someone than agreeing with them to avoid confrontation, but I also think it takes a very strong person to just accept that someone may feel or think differently about something.
When it comes to the welfare and safety of the people and animals I care about, I'll do anything. I'll run in front of a train to save a cat if I have to. I pushed a little old lady out of the way of a 50 pound dog house that fell off the top shelf at the store. Ruined a good pair of pantyhose, it did! I'm in college to become a social worker, which is a profession that takes a lot of bravery. I will be fighting for the children who can't fight for themselves, and I really hope I do a good job. Lives are at stake.
Against: I'm a coward. I refuse to go jogging at night because I have this random fear that a coyote will attack me. It's highly unlikely, especially because I go outside at night all the time. I even get nervous when taking my garbage out because I'm afraid a coyote is just waiting for a taste of my sweet, sweet A positive.
I have a really odd fear of grape jelly. When I was a kid, Michael Jackson's Thriller video came out, and there's a part where one of the zombies starts spitting up what I would assume is coagulated blood. It looked like grape jelly, and everytime I would have a nightmare, the blood was grape jelly. I now associate grape jelly with death, and the very sight of it makes me sick. I can't stand the sight, smell, or even thought of blood. I gave blood once and screamed when they poked me with the straw. I will never give blood so willingly again.
b. Slytherin
For: I am insanely ambitious. I'm always cooking up a new idea, and my hands are rarely idle. As far as ambition goes, I'm currently working on my second novel. I had my first novel published on 6/6/2006, which was appropriate considering the plotline of the book. In addition to wanting to be a world famous novelist, I am a prop artist. I began my own business when I was 19 and am still going. I want to be a successful entrepreneur and own a business in town someday. I'm often thinking of things that would be successful in my small town, such as a theatre or nightclub. I've had my own advice column, but I didn't attract enough attention, unfortunately. I've had my own t-shirt business, which also failed. I want to be a mother, a wife, a social worker, a therapist, a business owner, and a novelist. I intend to accomplish every single one of those goals. I'm also very resourceful, using everything I have to create bigger things. For example, in my business, I make props for cosplayers, and I use the most unlikely objects to create things needed. A good example of this is Sailor Saturn's brooch being made out of shells. When Wal-Mart is all you have, you make due!
Against: I have been sitting here for an hour and can honestly think of nothing to put here, which pains me because I know I have to. I suppose I could say that, though I am ambitious and have all of these plans, they don't flow very well. I get incredibly upset and stressed out. I'm not comfortable doing something 'wrong' to accompli-- Oh wait, my boyfriend does my homework for me sometimes. Nevermind.
c. Hufflepuff
For: I am very fair, and I don't just mean my complexion. No matter how much I care about someone, if they're wrong and someone else was right, I'll speak up about it. I'm a substitute teacher, and I find that while there are kids I like more than others, I treat them all exactly the same. It seems highly unethical not to, and not just in my place of work, but in my persona life, too. I'm a host on a game called Miriani, and a lot of my friends play that game, and then there are the players that I can't stand. I treat everyone the same while I'm on duty, though. It just isn't right to abuse my power.
I am extremely hard-working when it comes to my future. The bad thing about that is that I tend to pile things up and spread myself too thin, which is why my boyfriend does my homework sometimes. I'm also very loyal and will forgive people for just about every horror they put me through.
Against: Although I just finished saying that I'm loyal, I suppose it's to an extent. I've never cheated on a boyfriend, but I have had a two-faced streak where I would talk trash about one friend to another. Very tacky, I know. I'm also a bit of a gossip, and tend to be nosy, too. An example of my failing loyalty - when I was in high school, I had a friend who was at my house everyday. Safe to say I loved her (platonic), and actually wanted to be like her. She came to my house one day, told me a long and upsetting story about another friend, and later denied it when things got out of hand. She fed me to the wolves to keep herself out of trouble, and I just couldn't forgive her for it. I stopped talking to another friend for doing drugs and drinking, and then lying to her parents about where she got the substances. Lying is something I just can't tolerate, and I'll end a friendship over it without a second thought, and no later regrets.
d. Ravenclaw
For: I like to think I'm a genius, but I think most people feel that way. I have two degrees (Business Administration and Interdisciplinary Studies with an Education emphasis) and am working on my Bachelors of Science in Psychology, and eventually want to get my Masters and Doctorate. I'd also like to have a Doctorate in teaching English as a second language. I speak a little bit of everything, I think. Japanese, Hebrew, Spanish (mi espanol no es muy bien), Latin, Chinese, and Cherokee. I can read Japanese, Chinese, and Cherokee. Oh and I guess I've recently picked up some Russian but since I can't even hold a small conversation yet, I won't count it. I'm a visual learner, too. I can see something done a couple of times and repeat it exactly, which is bad for my friends when it comes to playing video games like Soul Caliber. I wipe the floor with them if I focus on how the characters move.
Against: Where I excel in language, I fail in math. I cannot handle the simplest mathematical functions, and yes, I do mean addition and subtraction. I can't subtract at all without a calculator. I also know very little about the world, which is rather contradictory considering my knowledge of language, but my high school was so poor that we weren't allowed to take books home, and so I know nothing about any world history. The only war I know anything about is the Civil War. Now that I'm older, anytime I get a book, especially a history book, I absorb it like a sponge, but I realize than in the grand scheme of things, I know nothing compared to my peers.
2. If you had access to a Time Turner, and did not have to worry about any restrictions, nor about whether you were going to return or not, what would you use it for and why? I honestly don't think I would use it because the thought of having that kind of power scares me, but I think that if I could tough it out, I would go back to high school and do it again. The whole thing. In school, I had no idea that I was capable of learning. I honestly thought I was stupid because of how little I knew compared to people I knew online. I was naive, and I never considered my future at all. I had no ambition or hopes of ever going to college, owning a business, or anything. If I could take the knowledge I have today, go back in time, and apply to my high school career, I could have accomplished a lot more much quicker. At the same time, I know that all of those things made me who I am today, so I don't regret them enough to truly want to redo them.
3. Under what circumstances would you use an Unforgivable Curse? I think I would use one of these curses if one had been used on someone I love. I've often said that I would snap and murder someone if they ever killed one of my cats purposely, so I think I could probably be persuaded to use an Unforgivable Curse. My mother, my cats, and my boyfriend are the people/things I hold most dear, so hurting them will undoubtedly cause me to have some sort of psychological break.
4. Under what circumstances would you work for Voldemort? I don't think I ever could, under any circumstances. This question reminds me of a question of ethics we had to contemplate in my ethics class, which was under what circumstances would we have worked for Hitler. Even if my family was going to be tortured and killed, I don't think I could work for him, not ever.
5. What class do you think you would excel in at Hogwarts? What do you think would be your favorite? Probably potions. Potions would be so fragile and would have to be measured and mixed so meticulously. I would love to tinker with potions, practicing and getting better and better at making them. I think I would excel in potions specifically because of my obsession with perfecting them.
6. You have to make five Horcruxes. What significant objects would you choose, and why? Why are these objects so important to you, that you would be willing to stick your soul into them?
The first would be my laptop. Sounds odd, I know, but I love my laptop. I used to have really awful back problems from sitting in front of the computer, writing papers for hours on end. With my laptop, my back issues went away, and I began writing my book and various short stories again once I had it.
The second would have to be a mirror. I love to make mosaics out of mirror, and people always find them so fascinating. I made my mom a mirror out of broken mirror pieces for Christmas, and everyone loved it. I've made mosaic furniture such as dressers, nightstands, coffee tables, and treasure boxes all from broken mirror. Making these always makes me feel safe, even if it is really sharp bits of glass.
Third would be my hair brush. As a trichotillomaniac, the hair I have means a lot to me, and I take really good care of it.
Fourth, my big pink pillow. The poor thing is absolutely filthy, but I love it. I can't stand when it even touches the floor, and I treat it like a real person. Whenever my husband cheated on me (which is why he's the ex-husband now), I didn't have anyone to turn to, and kind of like Chuck Noland in Castaway, I gave my pillow a personality. Really, I was just talking to myself, but I really needed something to keep me calm because I had been having panic attacks all the time. Though now I'm much more emotionally stable, I love that pillow for what it did for me.
Finally, number five, my Kaplan University degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. I grew up thinking I was a complete idiot, and this piece of paper is proof that even someone who had to repeat two grades in high school can graduate from college cum laude. That piece of paper did wonders for my self-esteem and so it means a lot to me.
7. What would your Boggart form be? Why? I think my Boggart would be myself, the way I used to be. I've come so far, and the very idea of ever falling back into who I used to be frightens me. I was lazy, self-centered, rude... I never want to be that way again. Recently, my hairdresser accidentally dyed my hair red, which upset me, because when I was younger, I would dye my hair constantly. Looking in the mirror was like seeing my Boggart. I had it dyed back to my natural color as soon as the danger of having more chemicals put in was past!
8. You can only store one memory into your Pensieve to visit over and over again. Which one would it be? Why? The day my mother bragged about me. When I was younger, my mother was horrible to me, saying she wished I was more like my cousins, and just a lot of really hurtful things like that. Hearing her say she was proud of me was a really big deal.
9. You have stumbled across the Mirror of Erised. What is it that you see? Why? I would see myself with two children, a son and a daughter, and my boyfriend as my husband. This is significant because... my boyfriend and I met online, and he's in England. We have plans for him to arrive in two years, and we've already been together two years. Looking into the mirror and seeing him and two children would mean he really does get here.
10. What are your hobbies/interests? How do these activities contribute to your personality? I think my number one hobby is probably writing. I love to write, because I feel that if I don't pour all of the crazy things I think of onto paper, I'll explode. It keeps me sane. I also like to work with my hands, finding things from anime, movies, or TV shows that I can replicate, just to prove to myself I can do it. The harder it looks, the better. I think school may be a hobby too. Since I started college, I feel like my entire world has just opened up. There is so much more out there that, thanks to the Internet, I can have, so long as I know what to search for. School has definitely helped add to my thirst for knowledge, and has made me a happier person.
11. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Hatred. I would make it so that everyone just accepted each other, or at least tolerated. I am so sick of people trying to shove their beliefs down each other's throats. Live and let live. To each their own. I think once everybody could chill out, we could work on what really matters - the environment. Survival!
12. List three major qualities you look for in a friend. Why are these qualities important to you? A sense of humor - They have to make me laugh, because if I get bored, I want to move on. Honesty - I can't stand lying, even little white lies, because I'm extremely gullible and taking advantage of that is just plain wrong. Patience - I need a friend who can understand that I'm not always going to be up for going out. I'm very dedicated to my schoolwork and that comes before everything else, so they would need to be patient with my priorities, even if those priorities are flawed.
13. Who is one person, real or fictional, that inspires you? Why? Hamasaki Ayumi. She lived a pretty crazy life, her father leaving her at a young age, her mother being awful, and dropping out of school, but despite all of that insanity, she made a name for herself. While most people who lived the kind of lifestyle she was living wouldn't have survived for long, she made it work for her and built herself into something amazing. It's proof that where you come from doesn't really matter. It's where you're going.
14. Outside of Harry Potter, what book has had an impact on your life and why? Other than my own book because it was my first huge accomplishment, Exit Strategies by Catherine Todd. It was about a woman who had been through hell with her doctor ex-husband, and it got worse when he died and left nothing to their children, but everything to his 25-year-old widow and her child. The main character puts herself through law school and finds a way to get money from her husband's estate to put their children through school. It was an amazing read, and is one of the things that made me realize that no matter how bad things get, you can always find some sort of solution.
15. What excites you most out of life? What is it that makes you feel so fulfilled and enlightened about it? Accomplishing goals is one of my most favorite things ever. I love even completing the smallest goals, like "go shopping" on a to-do list. It is simple little things like that, or accomplishing big things, like school, or getting a good grade on a huge exam. It's so exciting to accomplish stuff. It's fulfilling to know I can do anything I put my mind to. So far, I've failed at nothing I truly dedicated myself to, and that's a big deal to me.
16. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics? I'm optimistic, friendly, ambitious, intelligent, and talented.
17. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics? I'm judgmental, I gossip, I can be passive-aggressive, I can be a know-it-all, and hypocritical.
18. Do you believe in fate or free will? This is a hard one to answer, because I kind of think of life as an interactive book. I think of it in terms of a a road that branches off into other roads. Let's say you're presented with two options. Go to college or get a job. That's fate. But what you choose is free will. So you choose getting a job. You drive down that road, and are presented with a fork. Down one way is a night out with friends, and the other way is working late. That's fate. You choose to go out with friends, and that's free will. While out with friends, you meet your significant other. That's fate... I could go on and on. I don't believe in one more than the other. I think fate and free will work together to make... life.
19. If someone close to you was in danger, what would you do to save them? This could be anything. First of all, I would just like to say that my secret ambition is to learn how airplanes stay up. I'm terrified of airplanes, but I would jump out of an airplane (with a really fantastic parachute) to go after a friend who had fallen off. I know planes don't work that way, but I'm just saying I would face my biggest fear to save someone I care about. And probably someone I don't.
20. What is one important life lesson you have learned so far? What did it take out of you to realize this? That even though things can get really bad, there is no use in regretting it. Everything, even the most awful, traumatising thing, is a chance to learn something new. The worst, most painful time in my life, was when I found out my husband had cheated on me and was planning to move his girlfriend in and kick me out. I learned what kind of monster he really was, and I also learned that I could survive something that devastating, and I learned that I have a family that loves me and would stand behind me to keep me from falling down. It was really an important time in my life and shaped who I am today, and I think that because of that, no matter what is thrown at me, I will handle.
21. You have stumbled across five magical wells. One is the Well of Common Sense and Logic, the second is the Well of Creativity, the third is the Well of Optimism, the fourth is the Well of Physical Strength, and the fifth is the Well of Beauty. You can only drink from one well, but once you do you will be endowed with that ability for the rest of your life. Which well do you think you would definitely not need, and which do you think you would want to drink from? I definitely don't need to drink from the Well of Creativity. My imagination is fertile and I'm very good with my hands. The same goes for the Well of Optimism. For the sake of being shallow, I would want to drink from the Well of Beauty. I think of all five of the wells, beauty is what I'm lacking the most.
22. How did you find out about hogwarts_unity? (If you remember a certain person tell us so we can award points.) sweetthumbelina in another community!