Week 3 – Task 9 – Memories of Years Past

[Rose Dove]

A completely different topic that comes up when you interact with new students is about your past years at Hogwarts. Most just want reassurance that they made the right choice in coming here. But some are more than a little curious about your journey here and how you came to be you.

In these conversations, you do your best to emphasize that every student has their own individual journey to complete and that making the most out of your time here does include a lot of effort on your part. You get out what you put in, you make sure to tell them. It is something that was shared with you when you were younger and you know for a fact that it is applicable to every aspect of life, including school.

For every conversation, you try to remember something specific from your past that you think might be relevant to that person in particular. It is not an easy task but you do enjoy the little walk down memory lane.

Task: In 150 words or more, write about a core memory at Hogwarts or about your time here on HOL. If you are new to the site, you can focus on what led you to seek out something like HOL or what drew you to the world of Harry Potter.

Alternatively, you can create a visual depiction of a core memory or anything that influenced you to join this site. Please keep graphics no more than 600 x 600 pixels, per HOL rules.

This task is worth 10 beans, with 15 additional beans available if all Week Three activities are completed. Everything is due by 11:59 pm HOL time on September 30th.

[Galena May]

I am new to the site and only a first year student at Hogwarts.
When I was in my Muggle college, the Harry Potter craze was all around me. I have a habit of keeping out of crazes unless I am truly a fan, so I was initially not interested, but eventually by coincidence I picked up a Harry Potter book one day when I was bored. I found it so interesting that I read all the books in the series, then also watched all the films, despite being someone who doesn't usually watch films unless it's very interesting.
How I found HOL was a different story. Random googling after Muggle work is one of my hobbies. It helps me relax. One day, I was doing the same, searching for the school fees of Hogwarts because I had forgotten if the books had any mention of it. I found that the Ministry of Magic pays for magical education and Hogwarts has no school fees. At the same time, I stumbled upon a lot of websites that were online Hogwarts schools one could join. HOL looked most attractive to me from the outside, so I joined in this one. As I got to look in on the inside, I wasn't disappointed, it is beautiful.
My first and best memory of HOL as of yet is the Wizardvision Song Contest, perhaps because it was the first HOL activity I joined in and also the first of anything I did on HOL, given that I joined during summer break and the academics portion was out of bounds for me. There were so many different opinions and personalities to look at, and so many different ways of expression that blew me away. It challenged me on different levels and eased me into the atmosphere of the platform. The hosts, Janne and Mia, were fascinating and great people. The roleplay was absolutely amusing, and the nonogram puzzle challenged me, for it was hard. Other than that, my other great memories on HOL include interacting with the kind people, welcoming and interesting Professors, and interesting and lovely friends. Another of my best memories is, of course, the Ravenclaw debate topics in Birds to Differ, which needless to say, I very quickly exhausted. All of HOL has been exciting so far, and I am still loving it very much. Currently, I am loving the classes a lot.

[River Fenwick]

I've finally hit my year mark here on HOL, though it feels much longer. I've tried my best to accomplish a lot this past year, both in classes and out. At first, there always seemed to be something going on in the castle, which was overwhelming to me, but I believe it's safe to say I've successfully managed it for the time being. I had completed my classwork early on in my first term and was left to explore the rest of the castle, including the art and library departments and the newspaper. I was thrilled when people started talking to me, even more so when I began training to become a Prefect. I had a blast training to become a Prefect, gaining a mentor in the process, and getting to know some of my fellow Slytherins better. It was from them that I was encouraged to create and teach classes, which I've completed for this term. Overall, it's been a whirlwind for me here in the best of ways, leading me to where I am now.

[Luna Ravenlong]

I’m a first year at Hogwarts and fairly new to the site, so I’m still exploring everything it has to offer. I read the first Harry Potter book with my dad at age 5, but really got invested in the series when the first film came out three years later. Despite loving the series, I’d never really got involved in the online community before, but found HOL this summer and thought I’d see what it was like.
Ive really enjoyed everything it has to offer. The first event I joined was “Camp Hogwarts”, I really liked the different range of activities and meeting other people. I also enjoyed browsing the community forums and the Ravenclaw debate club, and seeing other people’s views about the series.

[Adeline Morior]

I think a core memory for me since I started here at HOL was when I gathered the strength and confidence to get out of my shell and try for the prefects in training and actually getting it and having real fun with it. I started off shy and unsure as to what to say or do, including in the participation of events, I was fairly reserved. I think I have grown in confidence in who I am and I am happy to be able to share that as a contributing member to our amazing HOL team. Something to remember and that continues to be true is how absolutely welcoming and wonderful the teachers and staff have been. The amount of creative fun and variety that excites continues to draw one in to have fun and be comfortable to express. Going from being insecure and shy about those aspects and being able to now freely share with everyone is a really nice thing.

[Lex Green]

https://postimg.cc/NK13hh7n

[Ellie Vernez]

[Janne Halla]