Hufflepuff Ratchet

Before I begin, I want to explain my reasoning for focusing less on the internship in my blogs.

First, and arguably the most important reason, is that my internship is significantly less hours than everyone else. I don't spend enough time there to write a whole blog about it. Second, is that I believe I am getting much more out of this experience than just my internship. I am having a cultural experience as well as personal growth. While in every blog I will discuss my internship, I want to make sure my blog describes my other experiences as well.

So I want to write about something that's been bothering me. Every time I discuss Harry Potter, I say that I would probably be in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. However, every time I say that, people get confused and say, "Anna, I would put you in Hufflepuff." This literally happens every time. Valerie said it last week. My friend even changed my name to Hufflepuff Ratchet in his phone for a while. I still don't understand how he thinks a Hufflepuff could be ratchet.

This deeply troubles me. I know it sounds silly, but let me try to explain. I always believed Hufflepuffs were nice and good. Perhaps I could be considered a nice person, but I never would have called myself a good person. But maybe with all these people calling me a Hufflepuff shows I've been too hard on myself. Maybe people see something in me that I don't see in myself.

This makes me think of my internship. There is a client who I will call Athena. Athena has made behavioral changes, but she's not consciously aware as to why she's made them. When Ventura asks her about them, she says, "I don't know." Perhaps what everyone else sees is completely different than what we see.  Maybe if we all could see ourselves through each other's eyes, we could see ourselves in a whole new way.

So if I look in the mirror, maybe instead of seeing some dark Slytherin, I will see a sweet and kind Hufflepuff. Or maybe I won't. Maybe I'm like Athena in that I have made behavioral changes that I'm not aware of. Perhaps I haven't even made behavioral changes, I was just always good and everyone else just saw it before I did. My being a Hufflepuff and Athena making these changes without realizing it has taught me something valuable. We are our own worst critic. People see the good in us, and they see the changes before we fully comprehend them ourselves.