once a king or queen in narnia, always a king or queen in narnia.
1. Name: Mariam, but everybody and their mother calls me Maki. Literally. I went over to my friend's house and his mother was all: "Oh, Maki! Honey, you didn't tell me Maki was coming!" ... so, I guess I'm trying to say you can call me that too. ^^;
2. Date of birth: August 7th, 1987.
3. Location and all the places you've lived: Well, I was born in Silver Springs (MD), but we eventually moved to Bowie because there were seven of us (not including pets) living in a small town house. Now I'm in Chicago, though. Just for college. (I consider where my parents grew up to be second homes, but I haven't lived there long enough, so I don't know if it counts...)
4. Reason(s) for joining this community: Okay, so maybe I'm a wee bit addicted to rating communities. And to Narnia. And... seeing both combined makes me happy inside?
5. How many of the books have you read? All of them. I bought a boxed set of them at a book fair in fifth grade, so... ^^;; Yeah. Maybe I overdid it then?
6. Which book(s) are your favourite? Least favourite? Why? I really, truly don't have a least favorite. Each of the Chronicles work on their own as an individual story, but they're just that much better in a set. They're just not complete otherwise, you know? For Favorites, though, it's a tie between The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Silver Chair. LWW because I remember first seeing the BBC movie when I was a kid, and that's what got me interested in Narnia to begin with. But... I don't know, I'm also really drawn to TSC. It struck a chord within me. I can't help it.
7. Who are some of your favourite characters and why? I have a lot of favorites, so I'll try to narrow it down (because chances are I'll remember someone later on and go "Oh!! I liked them too!") So I pick Lucy and Mr. Tumnus (who doesn't?) because they were such kind-hearted, pure people. I'm usually more drawn to those types because really, the world needs more people like them. (Plus there's that cuteness factor to them.) Also like Caspian because... well, I think he falls in with the good person-type, for one. I also like watching characters progress and I loved reading along as he grew.
8. Who are some of your least favourite characters? Why? Shift. As a villain, he's amazing -- there are so many boring, cookie-cutter villains out there, and Shift was anything but. I do appreciate him for that, but I remember reading this when I was younger and he gave me nightmares. (I'm not kidding here, but I wish I was. ;-; Okay, I admit it, I'm a wimp. Fine.)
9. Your occupation in life: Right now I'm a college Freshman in Antarctica, oh my GOD and an aspiring Art major. I really like sculpture, but I've only ever taken one class for it, and I'm probably better at drawing if anything. I plan on minoring in Japanese language. (Technically I'll be qualified to study abroad there next year, though... hopefully something will come of it!!)
10. What are some of your interests and hobbies? Many, many things. And if I'm not interested in it now, chances are I'll be interested in it later on. Things I really like or am interested in include sweets (or any kind of junk food, really, but the sugar is a plus), animals, music, art, martial arts, books, trains (sometimes I'll get on a train with no destination in mind, just for the sake of being on one), learning new things, and musicals. And... well, looking back on it, I think those double as my hobbies as well. I'm probably forgetting something. Hm.
11. If you had a choice between ending the world or saving your entire family, what would you choose? Why or why not? [If you choose to let the world live, then your entire family would be slaughtered slowly and painfully.] Oh God, you can NOT ask me a question like that. I know it's just a survey, but now I'm just running in circles trying to pick one or the other. I have a huge family, so when you say my entire family would be slaughtered, that's well over twenty people that I know (and there are plenty more; I just found out I had a second cousin going to school in this city). But then there are billions of people in the world, so what's twenty or so to them, right...? I don't know... I guess I'd choose the world over my family. I don't think I'd be able to live with that, though...
You do realize that this is going to bug me for the rest of the day, don't you?
12. Let's take it back to Adam and Eve basics -- would you eat the apple? Why or why not? Well, all allergies aside... That really depends. I mean, if I was distinctly told not to eat that apple, I wouldn't. I abide by the rules for the most part. If you distinctly tell me no, that apple is not for me, that there will be consequences, of course I'd leave it alone. If I didn't know what would happen, there's a chance I might have eaten it. You can't help not knowing, sometimes.
13. What are some of your main pet peeves? Screeching, squealing, any other obnoxious misuse of vocal chords, failure, mean-spirited people, attention/angst-whores, people who are too serious, and ignorance.
14. What is your heritage? [Not that this has any bearings on what or who we stamp you as, Narnia Rating doesn't discriminate. We coo' wit all y'all colors.] ... nice to know you're cool with my color? ^^;; I'm half Lebanese, half Puerto-Rican. I never was too proud of it, but my friends decided that just calling me a Spanarabian would be easier, so at least I get a cool title?
15. What era do you wish you were from, or ever dreamed about visiting? Ancient (very, very ancient) Rome. Mainly because I love early medieval art and when we covered Rome I just fell in love with it. I'd also want to visit feudal Japan... you know, before the fall of the shogunate and before the country's Westernization. I've always been really fascinated by that country's customs and history.
16. If you were a ruler of a formidable empire, but there was another kingdom not so formidable in battle but higher in power and rank, would you be content to live under them? Why or why not? I don't see why I'd have a problem with it unless they posed any threat to me. I'd never go looking for a fight, especially knowing that the safety of my kingdom was at stake. I'm sure anything I need (or any dispute that needs to be settled) could be achieved peacefully.
17. Is it sometimes okay to cheat in games and sports? Even just a tiny bit, and the captain of the other team cheated worse than you'd think was possible to get away with? Why or why not? It's not something I could live with. Even if you win, you still have to deal with knowing that you didn't win because of your own skills or talents, you won because you cheated. Even if the other team cheated and won - even if, at the end of the day, you don't have that trophy to line your wall - at least you know you played the game fairly.
18. What kind of books do you like to read besides the Chronicles? What are your favourites of these books? I'm a bibliophile. I'll read anything you throw at me. (Most people are kind of surprised by the books I read, though. I'm usually very optimistic and such, but at any time you could approach me and ask me what I'm reading, and it'd probably be something like 1984 or Bless Me, Ultima.) I really like Lord of the Flies, Love in the time of Cholera, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Sabriel (and Lirael, and Abhorsen...), and Dress Your Family in Corduruoy and Denim. (My current obsession is author Haruki Murakami, though...)
19. Name a few of your favourite movies. Anything by Hayao Miyazaki, for one. I also like The Dead Poets' Society, Suicide Club, Rent (it could've been so much better, but as a musical freak and as someone who appreciates the "No Day But Today"-theme, I'll admit that I like it.), 2046, Pride and Prejudice, and probably some others that I've forgotten.
20. Give yourself a label, even though we hate them. If you had to, what would it be? (ex. preppy, punky, goth, weird... etc.) Wow. Um... I don't think I fit under one label. I've got some of the prep in me, some of the punk, all of the weird... huh. I think in high school people labeled me as a punk, though, so I'll pick that one.
21. Name a childhood hero and why they were held as such. You know what? I liked Charlie Brown. Let's hear it for the unpopular kids who get tricked into falling on their backs when they try to kick footballs and can never seem to get the cute little redheaded girl.
... and Snoopy was cute.
22. Pick five words to describe yourself: Caring, eccentric, friendly, funny, and artistic.
23. Name three of your strengths and three of your talents:
Strengths: Optimism. I'm not always all happiness, sunshine and bunnies or whatever, but I always hope for the best. On top of that, I'm always there to cheer others up when they're down. When I can't make someone smile, I feel like I've failed. I'm also very open-minded, but I still know where I stand. Especially in debates, I can be both understanding and still manage to hold my own without letting someone persuade me. I only change points of view when I know that someone else is right and I'm wrong. I'm also mature, but not serious or stuck-up. I know a lot of people who think mature means serious, but that's not the case. I can just be smart and have fun at the same time.
Talents: I feel like I'm bragging when I talk about talent, but if I absolutely had to pick, I'd say art because I've tried many different forms of it at least once, I have an eye for what works or looks good together... you know, stuff like that. I'd also call martial arts a talent, if only because I'm a brown belt in it now, and because my ShiFu says that I'm very meticulous and pay attention to the details of each technique. (He says I have a problem with my power, though. He can see it there, but he says I don't unleash it... huh.) Third talent? ... I guess language. I like to learn, and I can retain a lot of information, but I pick up languages really fast. So.. hm. I guess that works!
24. Name three of your weaknesses and three things you suck at:
Weaknesses: I'm usually kind of submissive and something of a push-over, both for friends and strangers. I aim to please and try to avoid conflict, so I'll do whatever it takes just to maintain the peace. I get walked on a lot because of it. I also don't open up enough. I act happy on the outside, but if something bothers me, I never let anyone else deal with it. (I'm a hypocrite. ^^;; I preach the whole: "No man's an island!"-thing, but I try to be an island, myself...). Third, I guess my optimism kind of makes me a little naive at times. I should be a little more realistic, you know? And I'm not. It might help, you know...
Suck-ats: MATH. And I'm so glad that I only have to take one more class and then I'm done with it for the rest of my liiife. It's such a boring subject. (I even like history more than I like math.) I'm also really bad at organizing things. I don't really like messes, but it just can't be avoided. If I organize something, two days later it'll be a mess again. Plus I'm the kind of person who finds things better in clutter than I do when things are clean. And lastly, public speaking, which is ironic because when I performed in a play, I was the only one who never forgot a line. (I think that was because I never looked out at the audience to see how many people were watching me, though...) See, I don't think of it as delivering a speech, I think of it as a room full of people waiting for me to mess up.
25. Give us a few of your favourite quotes.
"A stranger is a friend you haven't met yet."
(I don't know who said it, but it's still a good one.)
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter", he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."
- In The Desert, Stephen Crane
And so it was I entered the broken world
To trace the visionary company of love, its voice
An instant in the wind (I know not whither hurled)
But not for long to hold each desperate choice.
- from The Broken Tower, by Hart Crane
26. All right, this is your one chance to bribe the mods into getting stamped as whatever you want and state something wonderfully complimenting about one or both of them. >:) But... I don't know the mods. I do like this survey, though!
27. Anything else we've forgotten? Not really. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
28. Here, please attach at least three clear pictures of yourself [unless you don't have any]. The only recent picture I have is a self-portrait which I'm not too happy with, but it does let you see my face and how long my hair's gotten, or whatever. But here are older pictures, just so you can see what I look like.
Taken last November.
This one's two years old, but it's the only picture I have of me smiling, so I still use it. ^^;
My own personal piano bench-warmer cat... you know, for good measure.