sorting sorting SORTING!

[firedawn]

Edited to elaborate on November 22nd, 2010, 12:22 PM.

I'm reapplying since I left the community over 3-4 years ago (whoa!). Here's hoping I won't get Muggled or something.


• What sort of profession in the wizarding world would you choose and why?
  
  I would want to be a librarian at Hogwarts. I am a student aspiring to be a young adult librarian in real life, and I also work as a Chinese cataloger at a university library in California. I can't imagine working in a life without children and books, because sharing the books and literature for YA I love with kids is my favorite thing in the whole world. When I was a little girl--in middle school--I had a librarian teacher at school who would slip books in my hands while I volunteered for my volunteer hours there. Through her I learned to love Tamora Pierce, Garth Nix, and yes, J.K. Rowling. Without her insistence I would have never read Harry Potter or the myriad of other wonderful young adult books I've had the pleasure to read in my life. This is why I would want to be a school librarian---because I love books and I want to spread knowledge and love for reading to younger generations.
   
• You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one Harry Potter character other than Hagrid and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you'd want with you.
  
  I would want Hedwig, so that I can send a message with him. I don't know if this is against the rules, but on my person I always have a notebook and a pen, so I can send the message with that. I would bring my Amazon Kindle so that I can read while I wait for rescue. It has a booklight attached to the case. So that's a lot of objects, but these really are things I carry around always. If I'm not allowed to have so many, then I suppose just a sharpie & Hedwig, so I can send a message on a piece of cloth ripped from my shirt or something.
   
• If you had the opportunity to live forever, but your family and friends did not, what would you choose? And if you did choose to live forever, what would you do with eternity?
  
  I would not want to live forever. I don't know if anyone here has read Tuck Everlasting... as a child I wanted to be immortal but after that book, I was completely turned off the idea. The idea of never being able to die is bizarre, and I don't want the fame and negative notoriety that would be involved. Surely there would be people in this world who accuse me of the occult and witchcraft ;) in order to live forever. Asides from the obvious perk of being able to read any books I want and any movies I want without any sort of limitation, there's not much in living forever that I would really want.
   
• If you could travel back in time to one point, when and where would you go? Why?
  
  I'm going to sound like a religious nutter, and this is probably a really common answer, but I would totally want to go meet Jesus. No really. Probably sometime during his ministry... not at the end or near the beginning. Asides from actually, you know, believing in Christianity, it would be awfully exciting to meet someone who had such a great impact on history, to hear him speak, to see him and touch him. Is there another single human being who has touched so many people's lives in the last 3000 years? I could write a book on it and people would actually believe me and buy the thing---since it's far more believable in the wizarding world that time travel is possible than in the Muggle world. I must mention though that there's no way I'm going there unless I had a chance to come back. I want to live in my own timeline!
   
• What HP character do you identify with most and why?
  
  I identify the most with Hermione, because until she met Ron and Harry, she was the outsider. She was the excluded one, the know-it-all... the one who always was made fun of because she had her nose in a book and always was snotty and prideful in class. That was me, in middle school and high school, during my awkward period. And like Hermione, I've found my home in my friends and in learning to temper my actions, my emotions, and to become a better person. Like Hermione, I depend on books and the library for when I need to solve a problem, and I'm often the party-pooper voice of reason when my friends are about to thoughtlessly do something really stupid. I used to carry a thousand books with me, and I've actually had a book bag split its seams while I'm carrying it. Luckily I got an e-book reader so now I don't have to carry a hundred pounds worth of stuff.
   
• What would you see if you looked into the Mirror of Erised?
  
  I think I would see someone who is my soul mate--someone who understands my reading and desires. Someone who is like me. This isn't necessarily a romantic thing, but just someone who I could be with (even as friends? family?) who would be able to live with me, with all my good parts and faults, who I could share and bare my soul with. There are people who are like this in my life, but no one who embodies all the qualities. However, now (during my elaboration) looking back through this answer... I must confess that I honestly don't know what I would see. What I wrote down is just a guess, but I, like many others, don't really know the true desires of my heart.
   
• Do you believe that moral actions should be judged by the intentions behind them, or by the consequences they create?
  
  I believe that a higher power probably decides and judges based on the intentions behind them, but on this earth we must live with the incomplete and imperfect system of judging people for what they actually do, and the consequences they create. Just because someone is totally unhinged and didn't know he was killing his daughter doesn't make it right, and we have to judge based on the fact he actually killed her. Of course, that is a terribly black and white example, but that's just an illustration.
  
  I also don't believe in the right of any individual to judge another---the purpose of the law system is in place in order to put criminals away to protect others from them and to protect them from the victims and/or their families, and so they cannot do those things again. However, no one human being has the right to judge another. Or the wisdom.
   
• What was your ideal job as a kid? Has that changed? What is your ideal job now?
  
  I wanted to be a teacher as a child, and that hasn't changed much. The only thing that's changed is that I want to be a teacher librarian to incooporate my deep love for libraries and books, as well as for young adult literature. Now that I am working as a cataloger in a library, I am only more sure of this---recieving new books and getting to look through them, preparing them for people to check out---this is the most amazing thing ever. The only thing that would improve my job is if I were working in a school library or the young adult section of a public library! I even spend my off-hours at home updating Shelfari records. It's a disease with me, I swear--I'm OCD with the books I have on my shelf at Shelfari.com, and feel an overwhelming need to perfect the records there. The true mark of a nerd who needs a life.
   
• If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it, and what would you call it?
  
  I would invent a spell to charm a book to hold all the books in the world. Or at least a thousand or so. My Kindle wouldn't work at Hogwarts and that would just slay me! I would have to look up the proper Latin reference to know what the spell would actually sound like, but for now I want to call it the Awesome Book Spell.
   
• If you were to face a boggart, what would it turn into? And what does it turn into when you throw the counter-spell, Riddikulus?
  
  If there's a creature that represents loneliness, that would probably be it. Another possibility is total, utter darkness and the inability to see. Both would turn into a Japanese boyband member dancing when I use the Riddikulus spell.
   
• What do you look for in a friend?
  
  Someone who will be honest and tell me the truth about what I am doing and what I am saying, even if the truth is unpleasant. Someone who is smart and can carry an intelligent conversation. My best friend and I talk on the phone for hours about everything, but recently mostly books since we're both studying to be librarians.
   
• What trait most annoys you about other people?
  
  - People who think they know everything. I certainly don't and but I'm smart enough to know that no one can know everything.
  - People who are overly obsessed with politics and/or reads tabloids.
  - People who misuse words like "legit" and "gay" for things they do not mean.
   
• What do you think are your top five abilities or qualities?
  
  I am a walking encyclopedia of random, useless trivia. If I find a piece of information useful or interesting, I will memorize it whether I like it or not, and I'm often the person people go to for advice on books, history, politics, music, or anything else I'm interested in. My musical memory is even scarier than my textual memory---I always win at Name That Song.
  
  I can sing, I think. I was part of an a cappella group in university called Road to Damascus. It was awesome. I've been a musical person all my life (starting with the piano at the age of five), but singing is my true musical passion.
  
  I am passionate about my hobbies, interests, and friends. I'm obsessive and I go through many phases---during my make up and beauty phase I learned everything there is to learn about make up and participated in every online community, having dozens of make up blogs in my Google Reader feed. I bought books (of course), I looked at tutorials, I practiced on people... I read about the history of make up, the different materials used to make make up... and this is just one of my many phases! I've also gone through a Japanese idols phase, a history books phase, among other things.
  
  I am fiercely loyal when I need to be, but at the same time I am going to hold grudges forever if people betray that trust. I suppose in this way I can be described like Mr. Darcy---Once offended there is no forgiveness.
  
  I am a really self-aware person. I try to think about my good qualities and my faults, and I try to make myself a better person all the time. It's a loooong process, since I have so many faults. And sometimes, I can't see my faults because I am too blind to them, but that's where other people come in handy. I can tell what some of my worst faults are by others' reaction to my actions.
   
• What do you think are your top five weaknesses or worst qualities?
  
  From the above question: I am fiercely loyal when I need to be, but at the same time I am going to hold grudges forever if people betray that trust. Though it's a positive trait, I also think it's a negative trait. Sometimes I am far too loyal when the people I am loyal to don't deserve it. Intellectually I know I should just drop them, but it is when they hurt me or betray me that I am finally able to follow the voice of reason and drop the people who are bringing harm to my life.
  
  I think and act like I am really smart but I really am not that smart or wise. It's a quality I'm constantly working on--like I mentioned earlier. I need to learn not to brag and talk like I know everything about the subject on hand.
  
  I anger quickly, though that's yet another trait I've been working on. When I become angry I often say things that are extremely scathing and hurtful, especially because I can always incooporate a hint of truth in there. Enough to hurt and make people doubt. I am trying to change this!
  
  Sometimes I go into hermit mode and ignore everyone I know for a while, just watching movies or reading books. I don't really feel like I "gain energy", per se, from others around me. Rather, I recharge when I'm by myself listening to music and reading a book, and that's how I get the energy to be able to face the world and deal with other people.
  
  I'm not very responsible, and I don't work very hard. For instance, I am filling this application out while at work. I'm definitely a procrastinator, hardcore, and I often only do enough to get by.
   
• Define in your own words the following key traits:
  
  • Courage: The ability to do the right thing and overcome fear to do it. The bravest people I know are also the ones who fear the most, but they are able to overcome their great fears.
  • Loyalty: Sticking with the person you care about through thick and thin, no matter what happens.
  • Intelligence: Knowing when to speak, when to be quiet. Knowing when to fight, and when to back off. A healthy amount of fear is a reflection of intelligence, but the wisdom to know the weaknesses of your enemy or a difficult problem is also a reflection of intelligence.
  • Ambition: A desire to get to the very top no matter what kind of methods it takes to get there.
   
• Name: Aimee
• Age: 23
• Where did you find out about us? I was in this community for a really long time but then left due to being busy in school.
• Do you plan on being active in the communities once you are sorted? Yes I do!