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Writer's pictureJaclyn Koss

Alternative Modes of Self-Branding

Updated: Jan 25, 2022

aka "A Running List of All the Things My Friends and I Compare Ourselves To"


If I asked you, "What baked good are you and why?" would you have an answer? Other than:


Yes, it seems silly. But let me rephrase: can you imagine knowing yourself so well that you would be able to confidently say what baked good you are?


As a content creator, artist, or entrepreneur, branding is crucial. I believe that a key component of a successful brand is creating something that is representative of not just what you do, but also who you are. In order to do this, you need to know yourself, but more importantly, you need to know how the world perceives you.


Some of my best friends (who will likely be featured a lot throughout this blog) and I unconsciously came up with a way to make this fun. It started after we went to see Captain America: Civil War. While discussing the movie, we somehow got to the topic of who would be most romantically compatible with which character. As the years went on, we continued to do this with different pop culture things, online quizzes, and other topics that randomly pop up in conversation.


By taking things that interest us and comparing ourselves to them, we are learning who we are in relation to each other. It also gives us new ways to critically think about who we are in relation to the rest of the world. Doing this with friends as “sounding boards” keeps us honest about it, too. There were several instances where someone would be confused by their "result," and the rest of us would present a compelling argument as to why it was true.


Since we started doing this, I have been able to create a brand that accurately represents me, not the person I tried to shove into a mold that wasn’t quite right. Because of my friends, if someone were to ask me “Jaclyn, what baked good are you?” I can instantly reply with “Cheesecake.”

The Running List:


GENERAL


What is our Hogwarts house?

Jaclyn: Hufflepuff 💛🦡

Elie: Slytherin 💚🐍

Jane: Gryffindor ❤️🦁

Rebecca: Ravenclaw 💙🦅


What is our Ilvermorny house?

Jaclyn: Horned Serpent

Elie: Pukwudgie

Jane: Wampus

Rebecca: Thunderbird


What types of magic would we excel in?

Jaclyn: Runes, Wards, Objects / Psychic / Shapeshifting

Elie: Potions / Alchemy / Working with Nature

Jane: Healing / Working with Animals / Necromancy

Rebecca: Illusions / Teleportation / Energy Manipulation


What mythical creature are we?

Jaclyn: Gorgon ("and I mean like properly pretty gorgon that just happens to have snake hair and kind of creepy eyes, not like the super fat ugly gorgon from the Hercules movie") -- the Gorgon is also part of the Sicilian trinacria!

Elie: Dragon

Jane: Mermaid

Rebecca: Kitsune


What is our Pokémon type?

Jaclyn: Ground/Poison (later generations: Steel)

Elie: Fire/Dragon

Jane: Lightning/Fighting

Rebecca: Ghost/Water (later generations: Dark)


What Tolkienverse species are we?

Jaclyn: Dwarf

Elie: Elf

Jane: Man

Rebecca: Hobbit


Which of the Great Houses in Game of Thrones do we belong in?

NOTE: Some answers were inspired by this.

Jaclyn: Tyrell / Stark

Elie: Targaryen / Lannister

Jane: Baratheon / Greyjoy

Rebecca: Martell / Tully


What is our Star Wars alliance?

Jaclyn: First Order

Elie: Dark Jedi

Jane: Galactic Republic

Rebecca: Rebel Alliance


Which of the ATLA four nations would we be in?

Jaclyn: Earth Kingdom

Elie: Fire Nation

Jane: Water Tribe

Rebecca: Air Nomad


What kind of being would we be in The Dragon Prince?

Jaclyn: human with primal magic (Callum not Claudia)

Elie: startouch elf

Jane: member of the human army, likely a general

Rebecca: human royalty


Which Voltron lion would we be the paladin for?

Jaclyn: Yellow (even though I'd be Pidge)

Elie: Red

Jane: Blue

Rebecca: Green (even though she'd be Hunk)


What time period do we belong in?

Elie: either Wild West, "kicking ass and getting justice for how white people treated POC back then," or 1920s mafia wife/shadow leader

Jane: 1980s America

Rebecca: 1990s West Coast


CHARACTERS


WhichYoung Justice character are we?

Jaclyn: Batgirl/Oracle | Barbara Gordon

Elie: Artemis/Tigress | Artemis Crock

Jane: Miss Martian | M'gann M'orzz/Megan Morse

Rebecca: Wonder Girl | Cassie Sandsmark


Which OG Avenger are we?

Jaclyn: Hulk | Bruce Banner

Elie: Black Widow | Natasha Romanoff

Jane:

Rebecca:


Which Disney Princess (or Prince) are we?

Jaclyn: Belle

Elie: Jasmine

Jane: Flynn Rider

Rebecca: Merida


Which marauder-era Harry Potter character are we?

Jaclyn: Sirius Black

Elie: Remus Lupin

Jane: James Potter

Rebecca: Arthur Weasley


Which original trilogy Star Wars character are we?

NOTE: Leia and Luke were taken off the table.

Jaclyn: Darth Vader

Elie: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Jane: Han Solo

Rebecca: Lando Calrissian


Which Star Trek original series/reboot character are we?

Jaclyn: Bones

Elie: Spock or Uhura

Jane: Kirk

Rebecca: Scotty


Which She-Ra character are we?

Jaclyn: Scorpia or Glimmer

Elie: Catra

Jane: She-Ra | Adora

Rebecca: Sea Hawk


FOOD + DRINKS


What type of alcohol are we?

Jaclyn: rum

Elie: gin

Jane: vodka

Rebecca: bourbon


What cocktail are we?

Jaclyn: hot toddy

Elie: dirty martini

Jane: Moscow mule

Rebecca: whiskey sour


and finally—What baked good are we?

Jaclyn: Cheesecake

Elie: Grand Marnier Soufflé Jane: flaky American Biscuit

Rebecca: Cronut



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