Why is this blog called Hatstall?

That’s a fair question.

If your first thought is, ‘Hatstall? Wait – like in Harry Potter?’
Well then, Hello friend!

If you’ve never had anything to do with Harry Potter, no books read, no movies watched, and you have no idea what a Hatstall is, click here

Anyway, I love the concept of the Hatstall, I am one, you are one, and I very much want to become one some day.
Wait – what?
Yes, I said, I am a Hatstall and I want to become one.

Hatstall
Quick middle-of-the-page-sidebar, so that the people who have read Harry Potter, but aren’t so deep into the fandom that they know what a Hatstall is, don’t feel left out.

I’m sure you remember, that young witches and wizards arriving at Hogwarts get sorted into four categories that reflect their personality, by putting on an enchanted old wizard hat. The four personality categories are: Good, Evil, Smart and Miscellaneous, and the hat is very good at judging which Hogwarts house will fit each young wizard best (I mean, he made a few mistakes, but humans are pretty complicated, what’s a bewitched hat to do?).
Once in a blue moon however, an eleven-year-old comes along, who embodies multiple houses, causing the hat to take over five whole minutes to come to a decision. These witches and wizards are sitting, nervous and miserable, in front of the whole school, waiting and waiting, wearing this worn-out old hat, and so they are called ‘Hatstalls’.


Of course, we have done some adulting since the books came out, and we figured out that the four categories are much more nuanced in reality – and so are people.
Slytherins, for example, aren’t evil. They are ambitious. They know what they want and aren’t afraid to go for it. Pretty brave if you ask me. And smart.
Overlap successfully established.

And that is how #housepride became a thing.
People from the original Harry Potter Generation are in their mid-20’s or early 30’s now, and we have started to become comfortable with our own identities (seriously, #houspride really is a thing).
Yes, we are all grown up – or at least we’re supposed to be – and we’re proud to be Hufflepuffs. Or Slytherins, or Ravenclaws. We don’t all feel like we have to be Gryffindors.

Here’s the thing though. Getting to know yourself is as amazing as it is difficult.
Amazing, because becoming aware of expectations you didn’t know you had for yourself, is freeing. Or at least it can be, if you are able to let those expectations go.
Difficult, because there are sides to my personality that are pretty complicated, get me in trouble often and, quite frankly, I wish I could trade in.
Or at least improve drastically.

Becoming a four-way Hatstall

I feel like the next phase in our lives is going to be all about learning from the people who are not like us.
For example, my inner control freak will never calm down, unless I learn to endure a little bit of chaos in my life. After all, life is never going to be without chaos, unexpected things happen.

Leaning into the things you desperately want to lean away from, is scary, yes.
But it can work wonders.

The point is, I’m striving for four-way Hatstall status.
I’d like the Sorting Hat to be completely at a loss over which house to put me in, because I acquired the awesome character traits of each house – and discarded the crappy ones.
(that is, once I finally get to Hogwarts. Cause I’m still waiting on that letter, guys. Owl-post isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be).

Or better yet, let’s strive to become a 17-way Hatstall, or a 42-way Hatstall. Because there are a lot more character traits then just the fantastic four of brave, ambitious, smart and kind.

Yes. To be a many-way Hatstall, I think, would be great.
Personal growth here I come!
Who’s with me?
http://www.hatstall.com/why/
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