No one can live in the light all the time...
Name: Rachel
Age: 15
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Are you open to cross-gender votes? I guess. I'd rather not, though.
Would you be open to being voted as characters who are not in your age range? Would you prefer to be voted as a character who is within your age range? I would prefer to stay within my age range.
1. What are your three defining positive traits? Explain how you exhibit each trait in everyday life.
Passion - I'm a musician (violinist/violist/pianist) at a fine arts high school, and besides family and friends, it is the most important thing in my life. It has almost become a part of me, since I can express myself so beautifully through it.
Loyalty - I have friends who have gone through difficult things, from death to drugs, and I never alienated myself from them. My friends seem to be there for me even when it feels like my family isn't, and I think I owe the same to them.
Courage/Humor - For me, I think those two traits are intertwined. When I get hurt (emotionally or otherwise), I still try to keep my head held high, and I use my sense of humor to play it off, instead of sulking or metaphorically hiding under a rock.
2. What are your three defining negative traits? Explain how you exhibit each trait in everyday life.
Sensitivity - I tend to take things personally, even when they're not meant that way. I've been hurt badly before (emotionally), so it seems like a part of me hasn't entirely healed, making me more vulnerable.
Jealousy - This goes along with me tending to take things too personally. There has been an unfair situation at school where there are three of us of the same age and ability on violin, but just the one is getting chosen for just about all the performances in which one is needed. Though I feel I have a right to be upset, I have been a little too upset about it, and I admit that.
Shyness - While I'm goofy around my good friends, when I go somewhere new I tend to keep quiet and not say much. There are also times when I keep to myself more than I should, such as not telling anyone when I'm hurting or something's bothering me (which goes back to the humor).
3. If you were studying in Spence, which would be your favorite place? (By the lake, garden, church, caves, etc.) Why?
I think the caves. The four girls were more open there, especially Gemma, likewise I would feel like that is where I could truly open up to my friends.
4. Would you have stolen the wine from the church in order to be in Felicity's group? Why or why not? If you weren't part of their crowd, what kind of clique would you be in, if any? Why?
I highly doubt it. While I'm always the girl who's "different", I'd much rather be that then in a group of snobby girls who looked down on people like me.
5. If the Door of Light were to appear in front of you and you were to go into the realms, what would you choose to do in them? What would they be like for you?
I think it'd be really cool to fly, and of course, finding love would be wonderful. But at the same time, I'd hope to find lost family and friends there, like Gemma did.
6. Do you think the power of the realms should be shared by the members of the Order? Why or why not?
I think so. I don't think that just one person should hold all the power, but I do think that it should only be shared with those who will handle it responsibly.
7. If you were a woman living in the Victorian Era, what do you think your life would have been like based on how it is now, your ambitions, and place in society?
I'd probably embarrass my parents. I'd just feel like I was trapped in a cage of other people's expectations. I'm a tad stubborn, and I'd most likely be pushed to act out.
I probably would like the dresses though. Not sure why. I'd probably want to wear something a little more daring to show that I am my own woman, but not something flamboyant or scandalous. I wouldn't want that.
8. If you were granted power by the realms and could use it inside and outside of the realms, what would you choose to do with it?
I would use it to heal others' pain. It would be nice to have just to have fun with, but those who are poor, hungry, and/or hurting would need it more than I would.
9. What is your favorite scene (A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels combined)? Why?
In Rebel Angels when the girls decide to trust Asha and the other Untouchables and receive their protection.
10. What is your favorite quote from the books? Why?
"What if evil doesn't really exist? What if evil is something dreamed up by man, and there is nothing to struggle again except our own limitations? The constant battle between our will, our desires, and our choices?"
This quote was so powerful to me. It just made me think about how everyone is human and has people who love them and people who hate them, and everyone simply wants different things. If that made any sense at all. It's a bit hard to explain.
11. Pick one character among Gemma, Felicity, Ann, and Pippa. Tell us what she (the character you chose) could have done differently. (We are sure you did not agree with their every action.)
I wish Pippa had considered her decision about staying in the realms more. I just wish she could have found something worth returning for instead of just giving up.
12. Which A Great and Terrible Beauty/Rebel Angels older character would you consider as a good role model? Why?
The side of Hester Moore that the girls knew. She was so artistic and witty, and separated herself from what was considered normal with grace.
13. Sort these words in order of appeal to you: beauty - glory - security - power - wealth - self-fulfillment - freedom. Explain your answer.
Freedom - Without freedom, there is no hope. There can be nothing, only resignation.
Security - Security does not mean being trapped. To have emotional security, to have people that you trust, that is the backbone to a happy existence.
Beauty - By this, I mean internal beauty. Every girl wants to be physically beautiful, of course, but I am one of those people who finds someone outwardly beautiful if they are kind and inwardly beautiful. Likewise, if there is someone who is not kind, I have a difficult time seeing their outer beauty. The two just go together for me.
Self-fulfillment - Everyone has a right to be happy and to do what is necessary to be happy, but not at the cost of others.
Glory - I believe that if someone has done something particularly admirable, they ought to have some sort of recognition.
Power - Power can be a good thing if used responsibly, but it has a tendency to go to people's heads.
Wealth - Wealth also tends to make people arrogant.
14. If possible, please post one or more pictures of yourself here. This is not mandatory, but if you do have pictures, you're encouraged to post them.
On the left
And again.