Peppermint Frogs

[contadine]

1. Your name: Emma
2. Your age: 16
3. What makes you get up in the morning?
My friends, little sister, and my possibilities. I'm running into some cheesiness here, but it's true. I love my friends and little sister with fierce devotion, and I look forward to spending time with them every day.
My "possibilities" answer needs some explanation. I don't want to sounds conceited in any way, but I'm one of those people who has a lot of mini talents but not one calling I'm outstandingly brilliant at. I love thinking and writing, and when I was young it used to be a given that I'd grow up to be a writer. Spiral notebooks abound in my room full of short stories, daily journal entries, and pages 1-25 of my great novel of the sixth grade. I've always loved performing, especially musical theatre, and I'm pretty good at it. I've been cast in professional operas and musicals all around the Bay Area in California and I've also performed in New York and Canada. For about three years I've been torturing myself with the question of whether I should follow my passion and try to make a living out of performing...or whether I'm really not good enough and it's not even my single passion anyway. Some days this dilemma is really discouraging, but oddly it has a weird effect on me. I've become really interested in what I'm going to do with my life, and I'm excited about the prospects.

4. Go to this website and copy your result into your application.

Big Five Test Results Extroversion (54%) medium which suggests you average somewhere in between being assertive and social and being withdrawn and solitary.
Accommodation (60%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly kind natured, trusting, and helpful at the expense of your own individual development (martyr complex).
Orderliness (58%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organized, neat, structured and restrained at the expense too often of flexibility, variety, spontaneity, and fun.
Emotional Stability (24%) low which suggests you are very worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious.
Inquisitiveness (66%) moderately high which suggests you are intellectual, curious, imaginative but possibly not very practical.
Take Free Big Five Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

5. What do you think of either Voldemort or Snape as a character?
Snape is, as JKR said, a treat of a character. I love reading about him, but I'm not going to write an in-depth analysis of him because, quite frankly, I haven't thought about it as much as some people have and I don't want to go around saying ignorant things.
As for Voldemort, well, the short answer is that he's a sociopath. Here comes the longer one.
I was really curious and excited to see how Voldemort the child was going to act. He is presented as being deranged from the beginning. Dumbledore asks Harry at one point if Harry's feeling sorry for poor little Tom Riddle. Harry says no, and I thought about that. A child whose mother died and father split should be pitied, but something about Voldemort is unpitiable. As a character he needs to be presented in the worst light possible because he represents total evil. Voldemort isn't one of those kids who goes bad and everyone says, "Oh, if only his parents could have provided for him, he would have turned out all right." Voldemort is brilliant, obsessive, and disturbed. He walks a delicate line, because while he's clearly psychotic, he's still fully aware of his actions and can be held responsible.

6. What are your other passions/ fandoms excluding Harry Potter?
I'm in love with Broadway. Never fear, though, I'm not one of the "OMG I loooove Wicked and RENT! Best shows evah!!1!" Admittedly, Wicked and RENT are two wonderful, wonderful shows, but my love of musicals is by no means limited to them. I've never seen a show in New York, but I see as many as possible in San Francisco and many in London and music from musicals dominates my music collection. I'm in a real state of bliss when I'm wrapped in a down comforter watching the classics at home with friends. Name pretty much any musical excepting State Fair and Carousel and I love it.
I'm also a huge fan of Jon Stewart and The Daily Show. I used to watch it religiously, but nowadays I don't have enough time. I've never figured out how to tape shows on my VCR contraption, so I have to content myself with seeing it maybe twice a week.
I swing dance. My friend taught me two years ago, and I've fallen in love with it. I'm a really short person (5'1") and she's really tall, so I always get the girl's part when we compete :). I go to about five dances a year, and aways have a lot of fun driving all over looking for dresses and accessories before the dance. It's something that comes easily to me and I take complete pleasure out of. I honestly can't listen to Joe Jackson or Glenn Miller without ten-beat twisting.
I mentioned earlier that I like writing. I love spiral notebooks very, very much and I write a lot of short stories in them. I love people and learning about people (it's mainly why I'm so attracted to acting), and I love creating characters. Often I'll spend a week creating a main character, his or her memories, physical features, and character quirks (like where s/he holds his or her weight, the position he or she likes to sleep and sit in...etc) before I start writing the story itself. In fits of Bohemian moods I'll go to the local coffee house and sit outside with a Chai, and ipod, and a notebook and watch people. It's really fascinating.

7. Who do you relate to most within the Harry Potter series?
In another sorting community I was stamped as Ginny, with many Hermione votes. I'd say that was pretty accurate - I'm a cross between these two characters. On a good day I could also see myself as being a younger, female version of Lupin, though. I alternate between being a shy, reserved person and a fiery, loud person. Lupin is shown as being the voice of reason among the Marauders, and that's a role I play with my crazy friends as well. Both of us are sort of the "mommy" of the group. I have a love of learning, which I always associate with Hermione, but I'm not as rabid as she is about my studies. Lupin is passionate about the subject he taught for a short time, and I can relate to that passion. If a subject interests me, like English or History, I'll be outspoken, active, and thoughtful in that class. If a subject bores me to tears, like my current Precalculus class, I'll do the work to get the A perfunctorily. I think Lupin would be the same way - active and seeking challenges in subjects he thought interesting, but still doing the necessary work for other classes and not slacking off because he found them uninteresting. Hermione puts he all into all her subjects - and I'm not quite that devoted.
*I just want to add that I really admire Lupin, and I feel uneasy comparing myself to him because I just don't feel like I'm as brilliant and witty and good as he is.

8. What is your favourite novel (ex. Harry Potter)?
Aw, I'm bad at these questions. I've never decided on a Favorite Novel of All Time. I don't read nearly as much as I used to, a fact I'm trying my darndest to reverse, but I'm the kind of person who needs to be reading about three books at a time so I can be kept on my toes. I'l read any Philip Pullman you throw at me. I read The Golden Compass in fifth grade and saw Pullman speak in eighth grade and haven't put down his books since. I also really enjoy anything by Elizabeth Berg. She's kind of Oprah's List-y, but she writes like my brain works. Only one of her plots has ever struck me as insanely clever, but her small descriptions make me love reading her books.
I love historical fiction and a good biography. When I was little I ate up the American Girl series. I've just finished Pentimento by Lillian Hellman, and I loved it. It was mostly about the people in her life she thought were worthy of writing about (with, of course, her many self-glorifying lies, but that's another story), and I think I liked it because it was so personal.

9. Would you run for prefect or Head Boy/ Girl if you were at Hogwarts?
It really depends on my school work load. I don't like to get stressed out, which I seem to get insanely often anyway, and if taking on a job like Prefect or Head Girl would only make me a bundle of nerves than no, I wouldn't want it. If the duties weren't intensely demanding (and judging from the books, I don't think they are) I would definitely run. I don't deal with disappointment very well, so if I didn't get the job I would torture myself over it, but that's no reason for not trying.

10. Who is your least favorite character - why?
This is a bit of a cop-out, but I love all of JKR's characters as characters. Sure, there's the deliciously hateable Umbridge, Rita Skeeter, Wormtail, Voldemort, Snape, Malfoy, and an assortment of Death Eaters and bullies, but they're all perfectly conceived and executed. Any normal person would say "I hate Pettigrew because of what he did to his friends!" And I agree. That base treachery is extremely hateable. All that does, though, is prove JKR's prowess at creating vile characters.

11. What do you consider the key qualities of the four Hogwarts houses? (Describe why you think this and elaborate!)
Gryffindor: The home of the brave at heart. I like that phrase because it accommodates people like Neville who aren't the "hero," adventurous type but are still brave and willing to put themselves into danger for the sake of their friends. To make a few blanket comments, Gryffindors believe strongly in their beliefs and will defend either themselves or their friends to the bitter end. Some Gryffindors are rash and capricious, but that's also a generalization. I think the ultimate key qualities of Gryffindor are bravery and chivalry. Honor and bravery are two things Gryffndors hold near and dear. The honor isn't even so much of an ego thing as it is a personal standard (although there have to be a lot of inflated egos in this house).
Hufflepuff: I really like this house. Hufflepuffs seem like genuinely nonjudgmental, just, and loyal people. I think that to say all Hufflepuffs are nice is an ignorant statement. Look at Zacharias Smith - not exactly the sweetest cookie of the batch. Hufflepuffs are hard-working. If they're not at the top of the class, it's not for lack of trying. A Hufflepuff will get the job done and will be modest about the result. I honestly don't know why they aren't respected as much as they should be.
Ravenclaw: I want to know a lot more about this house. Nothing is really known about it except that you have to be witty and wise to get in. But take a look around at all the witty people in the world - they can't all be Ravenclaws. If the pursuit of knowledge must be foremost in a Ravenclaw's mind, the common room would be full of self-absorbed, crazy, brilliant people. That just can't be the case. But maybe it's the house for people who take an active interest in learning and prefer theorizing, strategizing, and planning over being in the thick of things, fending off Death Eaters and playing the hero.
I kind of like the ambiguity of this house though, because it leaves room for Ravenclaws with a Slytherin lean and also Ravenclaws with a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor lean. That's just interesting.
Slytherin: The ambitious lot who'll stop at nothing to get what they want, and now. Not all Slytherins have to be evil, sadistic mass murderers, but looking at the fact that Slytherins are good at getting power, and power often corrupts, the large percent of Slytherin dark wizards isn't surprising. I think the key quality of a Slytherin is putting peronal gain over all else. Often this comes with an ego issues, which the Slytherins share with, funnily enough, the Gryffindors. Slytherins are often intelligent, thorough people. I get along well with people who've sorted into Slytherin online, I like to hear what they have to say. But in my every day life I would want a friend who cares more about me than a Slytherin would.

I hope I did what I was supposed to do here, I don't know if I went a little off-on-a-tangent-y...

12. Where and how would you like to see yourself (job, country) in a few years time?
I talked a little bit about this in #3, and I honestly don't know. I'd like to be a performer very much, but I've also had this idea of being a writer or an English teacher. I've had some horrible English teachers in my day, and that has inspired me to turn things around. I realized that the minute teachers started making me do busy work and pick apart books that were not meant to be picked apart I stopped reading as avidly as I used to. English teachers don't have to be like that. Sure, everyone needs to know grammar and syntax and all that jazz, but nobody needs to analyze Beowülf line by line. If I could pull it off, I'd want to teach any level of English and assign free reading and writing all the time. Just as long as people are reading something they find interesting, they'll understand what they read. I fervently believe that if people read for pleasure they'll learn a lot more than by reading archaic, meandering texts and are forced to put them under a microscope. I personally find etymology interesting, but I know that not everyone does, and that's no sin. My current English teacher makes us pick a certain number of words a month and fashion a whole presentation about their origin and subtle differences between them and their synonyms. That's just ridiculous. If you're reading and you see a word you don't know but still get the meaning of the sentence, then you're good to go. Words will work their way into your vocabulary if you're exposed to them. It's as simple as that.
Just to be clear, I'm not making an argument against classics here. Classics are usually made classics for a reason. But it cannot be denied that some were made classics out of stupidity.
As for which country I'd like to live in, a lot of my family lives in Israel and I love it there. My whole English teacher idea wouldn't exactly work out, but I'd be much happier in Israel than I would be here in America. I live about an hour away from San Francisco, and I wouldn't mind living there like I used to, either. It's a good place, and I miss it.

13. If you were a teacher at Hogwarts, which subject would you teach and why? (Extra thumbs up for original submissions - feel free to invent your own magical subject!)
My creativity pool is running a little dry for this one. So I'm going to answer Charms.
I keep alluding to things I've said earlier, but I'm going to do it again. The geek in me really likes etymology, so the incantations of spells tickle me pink. Sure, there are other grander, more formidable areas of magic, but when you get down to it Charms are really the most useful in every-day life. I like an active, engaging class, and Charms seems like that kind of class. I think I would have a lot of fun strolling among the students and being able to work with people one-on-one.

14. Would you be a Muggleborn (Mudblood?), Halfblood or Pureblood, based on your own personality? Give original reasons for this calculation excluding specific House Traits.
This is tricky. Based on my personality I think I'd call myself a half-blood. I'm at the same time extremely different and similar to my parents. I woudn't want to be a muggleborn because I couldn't stand that barrier between me and my family. One of things about the books that breaks my heart is Hermione's relationship with her parents. She lies to them in OotP so she can go spend time in the wizarding world over winter break, and I would hate to be so different from my parents that I couldn't stay away from my own, separate world for about two weeks. I wouldn't be a pureblood because I feel no special attachment to my ethnicity. When people ask me my heritage, I usually just say "European." I'm all over the Eastern and Western European map, and I have no strong ties to any country or culture that I feel honor-bound to. I like my religion, but I don't think of that as race at all. If I was a half-blood I could have some of both worlds. I could still communicate with my family and friends, but not carry the heavy weight of a pedigree.

15. What improvements would you follow through if you were Minister of Magic?
When and where? I have a few ideas for the land of the free and home of the brave, but I don't think that's what you're asking here :)
If I was Minister of Magic in Britain, I would encourage competition among newspapers. I realize that for the sake of the plot, The Daily Prophet is the newspaper of the British wizarding world. But the fact that a single newspaper has a monopoly on telling the community all the goings-on in the world is shameful. I got a little uneasy when the Ministry so easily manipulated the Prophet in OotP, and I think there shouldn't be one single news source for everyone in the country.

16. What do you consider your most prominent qualities, either good or bad and why?
I'm very thoughtful, and I like to mull things over and go on loopy tangents. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's infuriating to others. In my defense, however, I never drone on and on and hammer one point. Those people drive me crazy. I only actually talk when I have something to say.
I'm fond of my sense of humor. I have a lot of loud, outgoing friends and I love to laugh at them. As a result of too many hours spent with them, I've created a hybrid of their story-telling and caper-pulling techniques. I can deliver a hilarious story deadpan or falling down with laughter - and I'm pretty good at judging which would maximize the hilarity.
I can also be a shy person. If I don't know someone or am in unfamiliar territory I get really quiet and reserved. I'm a pretty polite person, but sometimes I can be apologizingly so.

17. If you could change something of the Harry Potter series, what would you want to change?
I'm just a grumbler, but I really didn't like all the teenage romance fluff in the sixth book. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it hadn't been for the weird Hermine/McClaggen, Ron/Romilda subplots. Some of it was priceless - I especially enjoyed Hermione's bird attack - but a lot of it was just sort of out of the blue. I would say more, but I think you've all heard this rant from someone you know so I won't.

18. Do you feel you can and will contribute to this community in an original way?
I'm a good member of communities. I'm on livejournal nearly every day (for much longer than I ought to be, too), and I like getting to know the people in the community.

19. How did you hear of this community? I found a link on jane85's userinfo.

20. Now is your chance: choose a house you would prefer not to be sorted into. (Include rational arguments, though.)
I've been told I'm difficult to sort, so good luck :)
I have no preference when it comes to the houses. I filled this out with no one house in mind, and I'm really excited to see what house you all think I belong in.