More blogging: The Trouble of Hufflepuffs

[author_by_night]

Despite the title, this has little to do with Harry Potter, except the House from which my classification derives. Also, because tone on the internet doesn't always translate, I'm not being emo here, just introspective. (And for the record? I'm a Hufflepuff.)

Hufflepuffs are hesitant to let go of things. They're often nostalgic, sometimes in healthy ways, but also occasionally in ways that aren't. They want things to be what was known to them as the common rule, as something that held them and those they cared about together. Thanksgiving traditions matter, and when they break, Hufflepuffs think about those moments. When old friends come into town, they want to meet at the Starbucks, and when their friends all say they hate Starbucks now, and anyway, they're only really in town for family, it's a hard pill for them to swallow.

They're belongers, not in the sense that they want to impress, but in the sense that they love where they are. They may hate it, but they still love it. They will work at a job they'd rather not have, but be damned, they make it work for them. They show up. They work overtime despite not getting overtime. When nobody else wants to, they don't understand. As for commitments? Hufflepuffs stick to them. If you tell a Hufflepuff to be there at 8, they're there at 8. If you're running late, expect a call or text message: "Are we still meeting here?" And heaven forbid you change plans at the last minute. Hufflepuffs will get disappointed by this. That isn't to say they don't sometimes break their own rules - often they do, and hate themselves a little for it. . For the most part, they keep to their word. They're exceedingly loyal, but can be a little unforgiving if they feel you've broken a rule.

It can be hard being a Hufflepuff, for these reasons. What Hufflepuffs need to understand is that they HAVE broken their own rules - and that's okay.  To err is human. It's good for things to change, if a bit sad for everyone (Hufflepuffs mourn louder and closer, but everyone misses something). People sometimes let you down, but don't realize they have. The world will move on.  But it's hard when you mean things when others don't, when you love so much in a cynical world, when you want things to work and nobody else cares - or rather, they care, but not as you do.

It's often great to be a Hufflepuff. Great things aren't always easy.

Comments

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

It's often great to be a Hufflepuff. Great things aren't always easy.

You can say that again.

[thekaiserchief.livejournal.com]

Go Hufflepuffs, even if it isn't easy being one.

[lusimeles.livejournal.com]

Really like your take on this. Hufflepuff needs more of an identity than just being the "leftovers" (sort of the way they're portrayed in the books), IMO. I love that you're enumerating all these points!

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the books were a bit odd with that, sometimes Hufflepuff seemed like the House that had it together the most, sometimes it seemed like the "loser" house. At least Hagrid tried to defend it.

[lusimeles.livejournal.com]

If I had the choice, I'd want to be a Hufflepuff. Everybody is cool and chill, and most importantly you probably have a stronger sense of inner balance.

[dolorosa-12.livejournal.com]

I've always identified as a Hufflepuff too! I agree with a lot of what you're saying here, especially the stuff about making commitments and sticking to them. I hate spontaneity!

But it's hard when you mean things when others don't, when you love so much in a cynical world, when you want things to work and nobody else cares - or rather, they care, but not as you do.

Oh, this. So very much.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I like spontaneity as long as it's about making things work better, not making things not work. Although there are times I can be a bit anal, something I try and watch. One year we started cooking late at Thanksgiving, and this bothered me because... you know, in hindsight I have no idea. It just did. I try and be careful with that though, because I don't want to end up being the person who ruins everyone else's enjoyment by being all "nope, we HAVE to do it this way." It's weird because in a some ways I'm the opposite of that, I love games where you don't have to play by the rules because I prefer creativity, but in my head I've decided certain things should Always Be This Way. Fortunately for family present and future, I've seen this in myself and try my very best to hold it in. After all, I don't want to become Marney! http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/11/26/awkward-family-story-the-thanksgiving-letter/)

[dolorosa-12.livejournal.com]

Oh, what you're saying makes a lot of sense to me. Spontaneity can be good in the right circumstances, but usually I find it very off-putting. If people invite me out on the same day (for example), I find it very disruptive and rarely want to go, because I generally have made plans of my own, even if those plans are just 'sitting at home reading/watching DVDs with my partner'. That's what I meant about spontaneity. I think some people find it more appealing.

And wow, that Marney letter is...interesting. I'm Australian, so we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but everyone in my extended family contributes something to Christmas dinners, and I'm glad we're more flexible than that.

[coffee-n-cocoa.livejournal.com]

Wow. I consider myself to be Hufflepuff, and the traits you describe fit me almost to a tee. Great observations, here!