The extended Pottermore Beta period has done nothing but agitate my inexplicably strong desire be sorted, once and for all. Gryffindor or Hufflepuff? Which flipping house do I belong to? Or have my own self perceptions deceived me altogether and my true place is in the basement with those good-for-nothing Slytherins (sorry guys). I didn't get early access to Pottermore and at this point only people who did can use it.
Why am I so eager to be sorted? Although I value Jo's opinion, (which the Pottermore quiz is probably a significant representation of) I shouldn't need it. I like personality quizzes and love finding great ones on the internet to...what exactly?
Well I have a theory. Maybe the Pottermore situation is getting at me because, on some level, I crave a higher, wiser power to tell me where I belong. Sometimes, I want to be categorized by some stupid ten question quiz because it gives me sometime to go with. My obsession with self assessments has gotten to the point where I spent at least ten minutes yesterday afternoon completing a quiz of four questions on the back of a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch to determine whether I am "full of sugar and spice and everything nice" or "have a big appetite for life". And the really dumb part was that I don't even like Cinnamon Toast Crunch!
But being grouped based on any trait is a lot like letting someone place a large glass dome around you five miles in every direction. You've been shown where you are, but it's nearly impossible to get where your going. Someone just gave you a free "you are here", and although the space before you appears wide and interesting, it is nothing compared to what it could be if only the walls that stand just out of view were not there.
I will take the Pottermore sorting quiz when I can. I will have fun answering the questions and will embrace my house with pride. I will not let a hat define my entire being. Really, everyone is both heroic and cowardly, kind and cruel, ignorant and intelligent, and ordinary and terrific, all at once.
