Let me introduce myself…

So my first blog, (found here), was me trying to give an example of what this blog might contain, namely a retrospective look on experiences shared with Mr Potter. But, as such, it failed to give you, faithful reader, who I am. Who’s fingers are striking the keys while listening to U2? Who was able to blather on for a ridicoulsly long period of time about re-reading books? And, maybe more importantly, who never even made it to re-reading Prisoner of Azkaban, let alone the succeeding four books, after promising to do so in their first blog? The answer to all these questions, and more, is Andy. And Andy is me.

And who exactly is Andy? Now there’s a more difficult question. I suppose the easiest way to, well, ˜explain’ me is to define myself by my actions. I read. I watch movies. I love LOST and Doctor Who. I Tweet. I Facebook. I blog (duh). I vlog. I vlog some more. I study Interactive Multimedia. I’m 18, (about to turn 19 next week). I started reading Harry Potter May 10th, 1999. I’ve been reading Leaky since 2001, (I think), watched it grown, and finally joined the staff April 2006. I’ve worked in the Corner Booth, organised an event day, and now manage the Quiz section as well as help on the Youth Programming team for LeakyCon, (and by the way, anyone heading to Terminus should come and party with us during the Wrock Wreggies event. Details here).

So I suppose that’s me in a nutshell, (and I’m side-stepping around the Austin Powers joke). Plans for this blog? Well hopefully it’ll continue in the vain of my previous post, as opposed to this one, and I hope to update on a weekly basis, most likely on the weekend. And that decision was made on basis that it’s Sunday now, and I’d imagine it’s going to take me another week before I find the motivation to sit down and do this again. Maybe each post will be random on my thoughts each week, but, more likely than not, I’ll try and be topical from time to time, and you’ll probably that will happen more frequently as time goes on, and I run out of topics to discuss.

Speaking of which, I loved reading the comments on my first blog, and will continue to do so for all my blogs. So any comments, ideas and queries will reach me if you post them in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

So as I mentioned before: I vlog, and on more than one channel. Today I’d like to bring onlyonetake to your attention, and not only for a shameless plug. Onlyonetake is a collabartive project between me and three other members of staff, (namely Starlysh, LunasLion and lilydreamer). A feature of the channel is to challenge each other, and I challenged Lily, (who was selected at random), to provide me with a topic for my next blog. And so she did, and now here I am! So to save this blog from becoming a complete self-centered disaster, I ask myself, (or, more accurately, Lily asks me), when has Harry influenced me?

Wow. Hard to say. I think something that definitely resonated with me during my years reading the books, was the line left with us at the end of Goblet of Fire, and issue of choosing between what is right and what is easy. I definitely took this line to heart and though I may not have always implemented it successfully into my everyday life and decisions, it’s always been there, present in whatever I’ve had to to. I think it’s a perfect message to children everywhere and it fits in perfectly with the other morales projected in the novels, such as loyalty, love and dedication, (especially if that dedication is to fighting a Dark Lord). I definitely think that it’s a message that has stuck with me firmly and has made me take the ˜right’ path over the years, and will do for years to come.

And that is where I’ll leave this for today. When you’ve spelt children as ˜childrin’ I think you have to call it a day. Hope to hear from as many of you as possible, and you might see me a little earlier this week. Aren’t we expecting a trailer for some new movie this week?

Until next time: choose what’s right. 🙂