(no subject)
♥ Basics ♥
Name:Cristina
Nicknames:Criss
Age:19
Location:Good ol' New England
Sex:Female
Marital Status:In a long term relationship
Zodiac:Cancer
Religion:Unitarian Universalist
♥ Favorites ♥
Please try to limit favorites to around 5!
Bands/Artists:Dispatch, Brand New, Ani Difranco, Josh Groban, The Early November, Beth Orton
Songs: Breathe- Anna Nalick, Small Change- Dispatch, Konstantine- Something Corporate
Movies: A Knight's Tale, Ever After, Stealing Beauty, Little Women, V for Vendetta
TV Shows: Gilmore Girls, Alias- I'm not big on T.V.
Books: This one is dangerous, I love to read :)- Dangerous Angels (Francesca Lia Block), The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand), Composing a Life (Mary Catherine Bateson), The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood), and Making the Run (Heather Henson), and one more... Cunt: A Declaration of Independance (Inga Muscio)
Food: Aloo Mutter (Indian dish), homemade tortellini, cheesecake, mixed green salad with gorgonzola and walnuts.. mmm
Drink: cranberry juice
Place: in nature, the ocean
Words: This one I haven't really thought about... hmm. The reclaiming of Cunt and Bitch are always good.
Quote: "The brain is wider than the sky." - Emily Dickinson
Guilty Pleasure: Ignoring my duties, making a cup of white jasmine tea and curling up with a good book and good music.
Childhood Memory: Going for bike rides with my mom and dad.
♥ Opinions ♥
Please choose at least 5 that you actually have an opinion on.
Suicide: This is a very personal thing for me on more than one level. I believe more needs to be done to prevent a person from getting to this point, and that is a fault on the world's view of mental health, not on the person. For example, here in the U.S. very little is done to proactively manage someone's health- mental or physical. I cannot give a solution as every person responds differently and my opinion on counseling is very divided from personal experience. I am rambling, sorry. Suicide is a personal choice, I like to be idealistic and say it can be prevented 100% of the time but it isn't true. I do believe more should be done to prevent it in a healthy, proactive way. A person's bodily rights are their own, as hard as it is to cope with.
Gay rights: As I am omnisexual (I don't love based on a person's physical presentation, I love based on connection- be it another woman, a man, a trans person, anything goes- you may know it as pansexual.) So, that said I am 100% in support of gay rights. I am of the mind that if something doesn't personally and directly affect you than it is hard to stake a claim to it and all of the hype against gay marriage bothers me. Love is love. A family is a family. Heterosexual couples can be abusive, have problems raising children, get divorced. The same is true for homosexual (as a broad term) couples but it should not be harped upon. The main reason I am in support of marriage specifically is for legal reasons like custody, hospital visitation, bank accounts, etc.
Abortion: I am pro-life, pro-choice. Ideally, I want to see a child grow up. However, a women's boldily rights are her own and I hope that she has enough respect for herself to protect herself in normal situations and not use abortion as her primary birth control, but I also realize that there are many situations where having a child would not be a healthy choice for the mother be it for money reasons, a rape, or other extreme situations.
Religion: Can't we all get along? I would love if personal beliefs did not affect so much and there could be harmonious or at least respectful existance but it hasn't worked for much else. Still, it is something I am willing to work toward and I believe it can happen.
Sex education: Ooooh, I can go on and on about this one. I just wrote a term paper on this. In a nation where 75 percent of parents want schools to take a comprehensive approach to sex education, including birth control, abortion, sexual orientation, emotional aspects of relationships, as well as abstinence why are governments still giving over $170 million dollars to abstinence only based curricula, many of which they do not even review or approve? The battle over sex education is not a new one, it bridges all of the topics that we as a nation refuse to talk about- sex, politics, and religion. How are we to find a happy medium when viewpoints range from no sex education and a chastity vow, to a comprehensive viewpoint that believes intercourse as well as oral and anal sex should be covered, as well as values, anatomy, pregnancy options- including abortion, safety- both emotional and physical, masturbation, and abstinence. I believe that the government needs to listen to what surveys and studies show and at least review the curricula they approve so that there is no misinformation. Sex education and health are important pieces of a public or private school education as relying on the parents to present the information is impossible. It is a student’s right to have a safe place to learn and ask questions about their sexuality and about sex and relationships in general. A community should, within reason, be able to provide the sex education program that the community agrees should be presented, however I believe that additional resources should be available for children be it books, pamphlets, or a hotline they can anonymously call with questions. Ideally, everywhere would offer comprehensive sex education but since that will take awhile at least we- as a nation- need to stop presenting lies and give kids a little more information beyond "Just don't do it."
Separation of church and state: We supposedly have it, I don't see it. Lets change it. Its pretty simple.
♥ True You ♥
What is one topic you wish people would stop talking about and why: I wish that the news stations would stop hyping what doesn't need hype and start focusing on things that are really important. Like our schools, like the homeless people living in every community. Yes, reporting world news is important but focus on the imperfections in our society too. And please, stop the hype around bird flu. More people die in the US from the Flu, there are epidemics wiping out whole towns in Africa, report about that.
Any weird quirks or strange habits? What makes you you? I am a big contradiction. I love fashion- but my phsyical appearance is au nautural (I don't shave), I am extremely outgoing- but very modest and shy. I enjoy having things organized and I plan too much (at least that is what I have been told.), I love to shop and love buying clothes but if I had a choice I wouldn't wear them. I hate soda.
Name one good and one bad thing about yourself. Good thing- I am very caring, Bad thing- I can be overly critical and bossy.
Describe a defining moment in your life. For 7 years of my life I have struggled with depression, self injury, low self esteem, and suicide. If you met me, you would never have known. I remained strong, compassionate, and extremely active. However, I rarely did anything for myself and really wore myself out. After 2 years of not cutting or self injuring after my parents found out I relapsed and cut. I carved the words 'live' on my arm and I know it seems twisted but understand. When I stopped it wasn't for me, it wasn't because I realized the harm I was causing myself. It was for everyone else. When I cut that last time it was for me and for the rest of my life, a reminder of what I don't want to go back to. It was for me. In that moment I didn't feel bad any longer because it was for me. Finally. Now, the urges are gone and I have a level of self worth and respect that I never had. I just had to come full circle.
What are some of your dreams and aspirations? I am going to become a progressive teacher, then as time goes on and I retire I want to open an inn with a spa and childcare facility, built by my partner and I with all environmentally friendly products, organic homegrown produce, unique decorated rooms, and full scale event hosting. I also want to see the west coast, travel to Spain and assimilate into their culture for a time, backpack and camp wherever I can, live green, and live with love.
What are some of your pet peeves? people who don't think for themselves, swearing, overusing resources, ignorance.
If you could, what time period would you choose to travel to? Why? I adore the renaissance, especially the time of Elizabeth I. She has always been an inspiration to me in many ways. I would love to see the clothing *drool*, and find out what it was really like compared to what the history books tell me. So much more effort went into building and living, I would like to see that drive in people.
Tell us a joke you find funny. I'm not really big on jokes, you all won't like that, but its a fact. I'll laugh but I rarely find one good enough to repeat.
Post a picture. (It can be of you, of just of something that you like). Explain why you picked the one you did.
One of my favorite pictures ever taken of my partner and I. I look so ridiculously happy, and I was.
Any final comments? Suggestions for improving the application?
Excellent application, good idea for a community.
Optional! Post 1-5 pictures of yourself!
My cousin and I this winter when I went down with my partner to introduce them. We all had a blast.
Love.
Going to see RENT with the most beautiful girl ever. Best birthday present.
My youth group and I after coming of age. (a UU program)
My co-counselors and I at the outdoor adventure camp I work at on the last check-out day.