Me trier, s'il vous plaît!
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Right now I'd probably have to say that I'd want people to take responsibility for their own actions. It's too often that I see people blaming others or things--I'd really like to see people owning their choices and owning the consequences of their choices, not essentially running away. It would be interesting to see what turn the world would take if everyone did that.
If I couldn't do this, I'd say we need to cut out the violence. Violence=BAD. No me gusta. I enjoy peace.
What makes a person respectable? A person who is respectable has honor, integrity, and manners. They defend who and what they believe in. They have a dream and the courage to follow it. If it's a man, they know how to treat a lady. If it's a lady, they know how to treat a man. To be respectable means to also have respect for others and for life. There are so many things that a respectable person is--these are just a few that come immediately to my mind.
What do you look for in a friend? I typically look for a person just like me. Or as close as I can get. Someone who I can have "adventures" with; they like to be physically active; they laugh when something is funny and cry when something is sad. They're the type of person who is really genuine, really sincere. I look for people who share my interests (Harry Potter, of course, among them) and will actually go out and DO things with me. While I enjoy sitting around and having long chats, funny or serious, I have had a hard time finding someone in recent years who will actually GO to the movies with me, GO spend 3 hours at Barnes and Noble just drooling over the books, GO drive 5 hours to the beach just to smell the salty breeze. I like someone with a good mix between the studious and the more physically active. I like people who won't judge me for my religion or political views; they take me for what I am. Me. And they love that. Because of the way I am, they get that in return. I like equality between friends, positive attitudes, and independence as well; someone who won't ditch me for a "significant other." Someone who would give me a shoulder to cry on. You know, that sort of thing.
What are your hobbies? If there was ever a person who could give meaning to "Jack of all trades, master of none," it's me. I'll do or try practically anything and am generally at least fairly good at it. My hobbies tend to be sporadic and usually come in short, obsessive bursts--for a period of, say, one month, I'll get an idea and draw obsessively. Or for 3 months I'll read every piece of Victorian Literature I can get my hands on. Perhaps I'll start a book, write on it for a week, throw it out the window, and then finish a short story I started 2 years ago. I might commit myself to a theatrical production for 3 months, or decide to play volleyball for 8 years. My hobbies can be fairly random, really. But what has never changed is that I've always loved to read, I've always loved to write, and I've always loved intense activities like acting and athletics.
Have or would you give time and money to a charity? Well, since I've never really had any money to give, I've given time to various charities in high school. I've worked with the Salvation Army and a shelter for pregnant teens in my hometown. I was an officer of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society at my school and we did a lot of service things. I like service; when I have more time (this semester is awful), I intend to volunteer more.
What is the one thing you would most like to accomplish? I think that a large part of me wants what the Greeks wanted and called kleos: it can be roughly translated into "fame," but it's more like "people talking about you." In a way, I want this. I want to do something great. I want to leave my mark on the world. I want to help change it in a good way. And yes, I'd like to be remembered for doing so.
Who is your role model?Well, I don't think I've ever had one particular "role model." My view on role models is quite complex--for me, I think I've pretty much pushed myself to be the best or most athletic or whatever simply because that's the way I am. That, and I'm intensely competitive. I always try to "win" at whatever I'm doing, regardless of what it is. But there are definitely people (real and fictional) who I'd like to emulate in some aspects, or who have influenced me.
-When I was really little, my sister was a bit of a role model for me, I will admit that. She's 10 years older than me and she played 3 varsity sports in high school, and I wanted to be just like her; I like sports, and I wanted to be really athletic. But that sort of faded away after she moved out and went to college when I was 8.
-My mom. I'm really, really close to her, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that she's always right. I always listen to her.
-Indiana Jones. In addition to me wanting his job, he's resourceful, intelligent, brave, determined, and hot. Very hot. Oh how I love young Harrison Ford.
-Albus Dumbledore. It's hard to describe just precisely how much I love this character. I hope I'm just like him when I'm old--slightly crazy, very brilliant, and always with a twinkle in his eye.
-Tenzin Gyatso. I got tickets to see His Holiness when he was in my city, and his lecture was just absolutely amazing. I've resolved to always try to have that much compassion and optimism...emphasis on the try. I haven't always been able to emulate him as much as I'd like, but the people like the Dalai Lama are the ones who are going to change and fix this world of ours.
-My senior year English teacher, Mrs. Stubbs. She was like the young, female version of Dumbledore: slightly crazy, very knowledgeable, and always with a twinkle in her eye. She was really cool, and while I wanted to be an English teacher, I wanted to be the kind of teacher she is. She genuinely cares about her students, in and out of the classroom, she makes English literature quite fun (as if it weren't already. Pffft!), and I just got along quite brilliantly with her. We were very close.
What trait most annoys you about other people? Stupidity. I can't stand stupid people. Especially when they drive cars or use netspeak. Honestly! Almost running me off the road AND butchering my language? Come now. And when stupid people think they are smart...oh gosh. This also drives me insane. Yes, I'm thinking of a few people in particular who have irritated me like no others. I'm sure that had I not known these people, not only would my life had been better, but this answer would have been different as well.
What do you want to do for a living? Oh, well, I want to be a Jedi when I grow up. But, alas, the lack of the existence of a real lightsaber prevents me from fulfilling that dream. Although I'm sure that there are some people, in basements somewhere, somehow, working to try to remedy that.
In all seriousness, what I want to do for a living is all speculation at the moment. When I was little I wanted to be an archaeologist or a paleontologist. At one point I wanted to be a Disney artist AND an Olympic athlete. After elementary school, I had no idea, and then in high school I decided that I wanted to be a Zoologist. My senior year that plan was thrown out the window, and I wanted to be a writer and an English professor. Now that I've actually started my first year of college the professor idea has been thrown out, and although I still want to be a writer, I'll most likely be changing my major from English to either Linguistics or Humanities; right now I kind of want to be a translator for the UN or other some such organization. I pick up languages very easily and I communicate very well in most mediums, including speaking and writing, of course, and I think that the opportunity to travel the world and have "adventures" of some sort would be much more fulfilling for me than sitting bent over at a desk, grading essays and writing dissertations on topics that have been beaten to death by dead white men. The thing about being a translator is that I might also be able to actually get out there and, in essence, get my hands in on helping people; to be out there, in the field, perhaps working with AIDS orphans or the tsunami victims or some other cause like that would make me feel like I'm making more of a difference in the world than writing criticism on the social implications of tea in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest would. (Not that I don't love that play; I do--I'm just writing an essay on it now and I feel like it's such a worthless topic in some ways.)
So yeah. Basically, I want to learn a bunch of languages, save the world, then write lovely prose for a time afterward. Sounds good to me.
But if we're talking Harry Potter world--Auror all the way. That, or transfigurations teacher.
If your friend was attacked (by a person, animal, or (in the magic world) beast), what would you do? Well, it would depend on the situation, wouldn't it? But I mostly mean that in how I would go about saving them, because believe me, I would try to save them from whatever was attacking them. How I would is another matter completely.
Would you ever use an Unforgivable Curse for any reason? No. I can say this with a lot of surety, mostly because I have very high ideological standards. I would try to never kill another person (the exception would be if they were attacking me and it was to save myself, and the only way I could would be to kill them). I would never try to control another person. And I would never torture another person. It's not so much that I couldn't do these things, it's just that I don't think I ever would, mostly because I would get far more satisfaction from seeing a person rot in jail for whatever wrongdoing they did than die quickly. There are worse fates than death. I would rather torture someone mentally than physically--it's far more damaging in my opinion if I were out for revenge or anything like that. And controlling someone? So primitive. Not only that, but I'm thoroughly convinced that no one can control another being. Manipulation and influence, however, are entirely different arenas. ;)
What do you think are your top five abilities or qualities? Oh. Hm. Top 5? Well, let's see...in no particular order:
-Focus and Passion (they sort of go together in this case): When I want something, I go for it. Generally, I won't do something if my heart isn't completely in it. And when I love something, I'm truly passionate and I throw myself into it wholeheartedly.
-Adaptation: I adapt and change very well. My family has moved a lot, so I've sort of had to learn to adapt to new places and things, but it's come in awfully handy these past few years--being flexible and adjusting to change.
-Integrity: Well, it sort of speaks for itself. I always try to maintain my integrity, no matter what I do.
-Unique view of the world: Well, we all have a unique perception, of course, but mine is particularly eclectic. I'm very open minded, and I like to take the best parts from philosophies and people and throw them all together in an interesting mix of humanity and spirituality when I look at the world. Hard to explain, but I think eclectic is the best word to describe my sort of perception.
-Ultimately optimistic: Sometimes I may be moody. Sometimes I may lose faith in the world and in the human race. But really, when it comes down to it, I always try to see the good in people and in myself. When it comes down to it, no matter how upset I am, I always try to see the bright side. In the end, even though I might seem like a realist, or sometimes even a pessimist, I'm really quite the optimist at heart.
What do you think are your top five weaknesses or worst qualities?
-Perfectionism: while sometimes an asset to me, my perfectionist tendencies often make me entirely too hard on myself.
-I try to do too many things at once--then I get overwhelmed.
-Sometimes I'm overly competitive. Not aggressive, per se; just competitive.
-If I don't get enough sleep, I don't function properly, which is sometimes quite irritating for a college student. But I DO love sleep, though, when I get it.
-Often when I don't want to do something, I lose all focus and then wander into some sort of daydream. I CAN focus--I just don't want too. I'm not ADD. I promise. ;)
My biggest weakness, however, is for chocolate. Such an addicting drug-like food, isn't it? I try not to binge too much. ;)
Define in your own words the following key traits:
Courage: Having the faith in yourself to do what you feel is right, no matter what. Facing your fears head on and not turning your back, no matter how afraid you are. Staying firm in the face of adversity, no matter what anyone says.
Loyalty: Staying true to those you love, regardless of the circumstances.
Intelligence: There are many different types of intelligence. There is the "book smarts" kind--being able to retain a lot of facts. There is the "intuitive or creative" kind--knowing how you feel and how to channel what you feel through your hands or mouth to communicate. There is the "street smarts" kind--knowing how to live, how to survive. And there is also the "social smarts" kind of intelligence--knowing people and how to maneuver in society. I think that the most truly intelligent people are very balanced with all these kinds of intelligence. Of course, you get geniuses that are recluses and absolute airheads that can flirt more skillfully at than anyone else--but on the whole, I think that the most intelligent people are able to maintain a sort of balance between all the different kinds of intelligence.
Ambition: Knowing what you want, how to get it, and having the guts to do it. Dreaming big and fulfilling that dream.
Name: Catherine
Age: 18
Where did you find out about us? ladykuroda