hell no we won't blow
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You
\name/
Lillian
\age/
17, which will change in about 2 months.
\location/
Newark, NJ
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Interests (you are not judged on this section, we just want to know more about you)
\Favourite Bands (No more than five)/
Green Day
Luna Sea
Malice Mizer
Mindless Self Indulgence
The Strokes
\Favourite Film(s)/
Reservoir Dogs
Scarface
Primal Fear
Hamlet (not the Mel Gibson version...the four hour long one starring Kenneth Branagh)
Grave of the Fireflies
\Favourite place(s) to shop/
Barnes & Noble
Mitsuwa Marketplace
Ebay
Contempo Casual
Any gaming store (I'm a bit of a video game geek)
\Favourite article(s) of clothing/
Any of my cargo pants...so comfortable.
\Favourite Book(s)/
Catcher in the Rye
Pygmalion
Fahrenheit 451
Famous All Over Town
The Lovely Bones
\Favourite beverage/
green tea
fruit punch
\Favourite Favourite (add another favourite of yours that wasn't asked above, i.e. favourite ice cream flavour, etc.)/
Favorite Artist: Kaori Yuki. Check out her work if you can. It's amazing.
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Random
\What time period would you most like to live in?/
The Roaring 20's...well, maybe a little less Great Depression and a little more ballyhoo.
\If you were given an unlimited amount of money to spend on just one thing, what would you spend it on?/
I'd relocate my entire family to Oahu. Hawaii is the best state in the US when it comes to people skills. Its just a genuinely open, friendly atmosphere, where smiles are contagious and everyone can let their guard down a bit.
\Would you rather have more time or more money?/
Whichever gets me closer to my above stated goal. Which, in turn, would probably be more money.
\If you could meet any one person, living or dead, who would you meet?/
Kaori Yuki. I wouldn't understand a word she'd say since she's Japanese...but it's not what's coming out of her mouth that I care about. It's what results from her putting pencil to paper.
\If you could kill your worst enemy, would you do it?/
Honestly, I don't see who wouldn't. Last I checked, I was human.
\If you could have any job in the world, what would you do?/
I'd be a top notch FBI profiler. Everyone would think I was psychic, which would probably devalue all the years of hard work I'd have gone through to become a top FBI profiler...but think of the respect I'd get if people thought I could see their most intimate secrets.
\Why do you want to join this community?/
Because all the other rating communities are trash.
This is the first one I've applied for.
Although I don't need validation that I'm intelligent, it's nice to see others recognize it once in awhile.
\One community or person you promoted this to & link/
My own journal..hope it counts.
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Your part
In this section, think of five questions to ask yourself, and then answer them. At least two must be about politics, society, or some question that isn't just about yoooou (i.e. gay rights, etc.).
1)Is violence in video games and television to blame for the rise in the juvenile crime rate?
I am answering this question as a gamer, and avid couch potato, and a juvenile.
Any individual that uses television and video games as "guidebooks" for harming others is clearly not mentally sound. A sane person should be able to differentiate entertainment from reality. Besides, this country has a little thing called "parental advisories" that are issued to practically anything that can be considered even the slightest bit harmful to youths. If the parents are idiotic enough to ignore the warnings, then they have no place blaming TV and video games for the results of their own crappy parenting.
2)Say, your city has a pretty bad reputation. How do you deal with the stereotypes?
I admit that Newark, New Jersey isn't exactly Beverly Hills. We have a sky high crime rate and the greatest public figure to come out of Newark is Shaquille O'Neal. But we're not all gun-toting gang members, or agile car theives. In fact we're not even one of the top 20 most dangerous cities. Media references to Newark (like the one made on Friends way back in the early seasons) don't exactly portray us as a family friendly hot spot. The truth is that just like most other cities in the US, Newark has both well-adjusted areas, like Forest Hills, as well as poverty stricken areas, like the "projects". Mayor Sharp James has even contributed something of a tourist attraction to Newark, the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park. The park is filled with cherry blossom trees that only bloom in the month of May. Every year, people from Newark, as well as other neighboring cities, flock to the festival where there is food, games, and a show put on by geishas. I am being completely truthful when I say that despite the reputation Newark has, I will always consider it my home...a place where I feel, for the most part, safe and accepted.
3)How do you feel about the recent efforts to get 18-25 yr. olds more involved in the voting process?
I've seen a lot of the commercials encouraging my generation to go out and vote in the upcoming 2004 election. Personally, I think its money well spent. People my age should be more involved in the voting process. I don't think many, if any, teenagers these days go out of their way to learn about the issues that affect them and I think thats a shame. Having the right to vote for our leaders in the first place is a right that many in our history have sacrificed their lives for, and I don't intend to have their efforts be in vain.
4)Who do you plan to vote for?
I intend to vote for John Kerry.
I've never politically labeled myself and I don't believe I ever will. People are so concerned about labeling themselves as a Democrat, or a Republican, or an Independent, or whatever else in between. Alot of the time, people simply decide to support whatever party their parents did without even listening to the issues and making an informed decision. In fact, my opinion strongly differs from my parents in the sense that they both intend on voting for Bush, only because they liked George Sr. I will not vote for Bush, not only because I disagree with the way he handled the situation in Iraq, not only because I disagree with his views on gay marriage, but also because the man ran our economy into the ground. At the end of Clinton's presidency, we had a surplus for once! A big one, at that. And Bush ran through that and then some, causing our economy to be the worse it's ever been. I understand that 9/11 played a big part in that, but the war expenses were a bit overdone, and in my opinion, its a war thats being fought for all the wrong reasons anyway.
5)Thoughts on religion?
I've been raised as a Roman Catholic. I've attended Catholic schools since first grade, which has accomplished nothing but pushing me even further away from the church. However, I do believe in God. The way I figure it, there are so many world religions that they can't all be wrong. I think everyone who worships, worships the same God, although tailored to fit each culture's system of values and beliefs. I disagree with many of the rules associated with Catholicism. I find most of the rituals (or "sacraments") are completely unneccesary...for example, I have an issue with Confession. If God is so merciful and loving, why would he damn me to eternal suffering for not pouring out my every little wrong doing to a strange priest? I don't believe in Hell either, but I'll leave that rant for another day since most of these "short" answers have been anything but.
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The big question
Well a large part of who I am is my ethnicity.
I happen to be biracial: Chinese and Puerto Rican. I am extremely proud to be such a unique mix, however, growing up, children and childish teenagers have tested by pride constantly.
When I was a child, it was stupid teasings about my Chinese side. The extremely overused "Ching chong, what did I say?" and slanty eyes motions sent me home each day with less confidence than the day before. When I became a teenager, it was the Hispanic classmates I encountered, accusing me of lying about my Puerto Rican heritage, and led to my becoming an outlet for them to unleash their own insecurities out on. There were many nights where I cursed my parents for bringing me into the world as a "mutt". However, as I matured, I came to realize something very important that has kept me walking tall ever since.
I'm better than them.
In no specific way...just generally, overall...I am of better quality than they are.
And today, anytime someone makes an attempt to discourage me...I just say to myself (and sometimes to them), "I'm better than you. I am better at LIFE than you are" as I smile politely, and walk away...
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Pictures
Post no less than two and no more than seven pictures of yourself. Please make sure your face is visible in at least one. (you are not judged on this section)
Meh, the only recent pictures of me are group ones.
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