In J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, First Years are sorted into houses based on their dominant personality trait.  Even though the students of all the houses learn the same magic, we’ve witnessed how differing skill sets* can skew the balance.  So why limit yourself?  You’re not at Hogwarts** so there’s no point in defining yourself by, say, your dominant trait at age eleven.***  Instead, you can look to all the houses as guides for how to bring out the best in yourself.

By the way, a translation of this blog is available in Parseltongue: SSssssssSSSSsssssSSSsssss….

Where was I?  Oh, yes…

Ravenclaw
As a progeek, your brain is your best friend, regardless of where the Sorting Hat places you.  The power of Ravenclaw is the spark of all things geeky.  The Ravenclaw in all of us loves learning and exploring information.  When you get lost in a Wikipedia time warp, or quote statistics, or daydream about how that new scientific tidbit you just learned will affect your steampunk fic, that’s Ravenclaw.  It’s the initial spark that powers your creative hobbies and outside-the-box thinking.  It allows you to plan and get organized.  Nobody can keep you down if you have wit beyond measure.

Hufflepuff
This one is straightforward.  Work hard.  When your inner Ravenclaw gives you an idea, the next thing to do is tap into your Hufflepuff stores to carry the idea out.  Your journey will present you with challenges, but your Hufflepuffian stamina will sustain you through them.  Even though Hufflepuffs get the bad rep for being flighty or cowardly, the opposite is actually the case.  Any courageous Gryffindor can get themselves into all kinds of trouble, but it takes the persistence of a Hufflepuff to work through the situation and put together a viable solution.  We Hufflepuffs are not merely “all the rest.”  We are compassionate and peace-loving.  We are diligent.  We are also particularly good finders.

Gryffindor
So let’s say you’ve developed your awesome idea and it’s time to get it out there.  Or maybe you’re at the limit of what you can do yourself and you need to enlist others’ help.  That means it’s time for networking, promoting your idea/product, and taking it to the big time.  If that thought scares you, then it’s also time for Gryffindor.  Courage isn’t about a lack of fear; it’s about having the strength to confront your fears.  Those out of touch with their inner Gryffindor will be too shy and isolated to do their ideas justice, or they will lack the confidence to sell their finished product.  Call upon the power of Gryffindor and get out there.

Slytherin
Wait a minute… Slytherin?  But Slytherins are teh eebils!

Well, no, they’re not.  Slytherin’s trait is ambition.  The Deatheaters are an example of what happens when ambition goes corrupt, but any house’s trait can be corrupted:

Ravenclaw’s intelligence – Don’t be That Guy.
Hufflepuff’s stability – Don’t stay the course if you’d be better off revising your strategy.
Gryffindor’s bravery – …right, like you can’t think of an example where too much bravery has created problems.

So, yes, you need your inner Slytherin too.

The ambitious Slytherin slithers in when you first get your idea and dream ‘til its title is in a fancy logo and your name is up in lights.  It then snakes away but comes back from the dead when times are tough and you need to keep your head up.  Hufflepuff makes sure you do your work, but Slytherin is the one giving you hope and keeping you confident.

All the houses of Hogwarts are necessary keys to success.  Don’t fall for the labels and stereotypes.  Maybe you’re not called a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor, but I’m sure you’ve been called an art geek (and therefore bad at math) or a math geek (and therefore bad with people).  Don’t believe the hype, don’t ignore your hidden potential, and for the love of Dumbledore, don’t limit yourself to who you thought you once were.

*and sometimes teachers’ favouritism
**But don’t you wish you were?  I wish I was.
***Your guidance counsellor was wrong.

- Tamara Hecht