At the end of the recent Harry Potter exhibition in Munich, there was a digital scoreboard for the four different houses at Hogwarts, just like in the books. When you start the tour, you choose a house, and along the way, as you complete little tasks, you score for your team.
Also like in the books, the final tally was very much what any seasoned reader might expect: Gryffindor led with some 60,000 points, with everyone else trailing far behind. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin all had around 20,000 points. It got me thinking.
When I read the books as a kid, I naturally assumed myself to be one of Harry’s fellow Gryffindors. As the exhibition showed, so do most people, and with the three protagonists all stemming from that house, perhaps that is to be expected. But the house you’d like to be in might not actually be the house in which you land. After all, it’s the Sorting Hat that decides, not you.
In the exhibit, there were various rooms based on the different houses, and as I read the numerous signs and descriptions, one line about Ravenclaw struck me: Members of Ravenclaw are known for their wit, learning, and wisdom. If you had asked people to describe me in three words when I was a teenager, some variant of “smart” would likely have been among them. So if your house is based on what you’re known for more so than who you’d like to be, maybe I’m a Ravenclaw after all.
It’s never too late to realize you were wrong—especially about yourself—and when you realize you are, it’s always a good time to change your mind.