Here we go!
Name: Carly
Age: 21
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? I would make people more considerate of others. I don't necessarily want everyone to get along, but I want them to be more conscious of how what they do affects everyone around them. Being considerate doesn't have to mean giving 10 dollars to the bum on the side of the road, but it can mean not cutting off people in traffic because you're more important than they are. Maybe I don't really mean considerate, maybe I just want people to be more aware. We are living a life of slumber and if we stop paying attention how are we going to say that we lived?
Who is your favorite Hogwarts teacher? Mad Eye Moody was my favorite, even though he turned out to be a bad guy in the end. He had real life experience and wasn't afraid to be himself. He was crude but smart and had the kind of personality you can look up to and respect. Advice was never forcibly pushed on Harry, but it was always there when he seemed to need it. Very Buddhist, I think. When the student is ready the teacher will be there.
Who is your favorite character in Harry Potter? Sirius Black is my favorite character. He is a bit of a wildcard and somewhat angsty. Reminds me of someone who 's still in the "rebelling against your parents" phase. I never understood why he was allowed to have his flying motorcycle and Mr. Weasley got in trouble for his flying car. Maybe it's a coolness factor. Sirius is the Fonzie of the Harry Potter World. He's not really a role model but he's a great friend and passionate about the people he cares for. Life is never dull when he's around.
Who is your least favorite character in Harry Potter? Draco Malfoy. He's the epitome of the rich brat who gets whatever he wants and thinks he's better than everyone else just because his daddy has lots of money and they live in a big fancy house. He's rude, selfish, and a bully. On top of all this, he's a wimp. Whenever the situation gets sticky, he and his cronies whimper and cry and run away, while people with real guts stick it through to the end.
What makes a person respectable? A person is respectable when they stick to a code that they have established for themselves. They don't have to be a nice person, but they do have to be hard working and dilligent. It's really hard for me to elaborate much on this, because I don't necessarily think that someone has to be "good" person or on the "good" side to be respectable. It's easier to respect someone that has a moral code you could get behind and sticks to it, but it's also possible to have respect for one of your enemies. You don't have to like someone to respect them, you just have to understand and be able to see that they aren't hypocritical in how they say you should act and how they do act.
What is your take on religion? I think a lot of people these days are confused about religion and whether christianity is the "one" religion. I am a religious and spiritual person and I think that we should all be open enough to allow others to have their own beliefs and follow their own religion. I do believe that said religions should fall within the guidelines set by the laws of your state, but should otherwise allow complete freedom. Religion is something that can help people through troubled or happy times and can help to shape their world to something they can better understand. I think I would rather have some sort of folk religion that tells me a way to think about the world, than to sit there and think that it is totally unfathomable and that I will never be able to really understand.
What do you think about house elves? I learned a lot about house elves when I was in girl scouts, and I never learned that they were slaves, but welcome and honored guests. When you are kind enough and a good person, a house elf will come and help you clean your home or do some other favor for you. In return you do something for the elf, like make them clothes or leave them cookies that they like to eat. I was kind of sad to read that elves were slaves in Harry's world, I have a lot more respect for them than that. Personally I am following a pagan path and learning about the gods and beliefs of my Irish ancestors.
What do you look for in a friend? Compassion, openness, an adventurous spirit. I like to be friends with people who aren't afraid to take risks, go on unplanned road trips, or turn left down a road they've never seen before. I want my friends to be thinkers and not only look at the world around them, but process it and attempt to understand in whatever way makes the most sense to them. I look for a person who isn't afraid to stand by what they believe in, but isn't so proud as to stick by their ideals once they've found them to be incorrect or ill-fitting. I look for a friend who will stick by their friends in good times and bad, be understand and caring and support their friends even when they don't take the advice offered.
Would you rather have friends and family or money and success? Friends and family are always worth more than money and success. Friends love you even when you have to bum a few bucks to pay for lunch, or when your car breaks down or you can't buy them a christmas present. Money and success get you people who never give, only take, and that drains you not only financially, but emotionally and spiritually as well. A friend is someone you can lean on in times of need, and someone who can help you grow. Friends are family, and I don't really see a big difference between the two. Some family members you wouldn't loan 10 bucks to, and some friends you'd loan 100 if you had it to spare when they asked. Money can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy completion, which is something being surrounded by those you love can do.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would change the fact that I have a fear of abandonment. I am somewhat convinced that one day all of my friends and my boyfriend are going to wake up, realize they don't like/love me, and walk out of my life.
What do you feel is your best quality? I think my compassion is my best quality. I always try to share what I have with my friends and put them in an important place in my life. I care about their lives and what they have to say and do everything I can to help them out when they get on hard times.
What are your hobbies? I read books (LOTS of books!). I love to bury myself in books about history (the medieval period of Europe is my favorite), but I also like to read fiction such as Lord of the Rings, The Dragonriders of Pern, or historical fiction like The Virgin Blue. I play the flute and the piccolo, spin fire (it's called poi), play on my computer, and play Dungeons and Dragons.
Do you want to have children? I would love to have children one day. I only want two because it's not fair to have the middle child. They get put in a socially bad position in the family. I want to have time to spend with my children and teach them and help them grow.
Have or would you give time and money to a charity? I don't normally give money to charities because I have very little faith in the system and whether or not it will actually get back to the people it's supposed to help. I love to donate my time and have been doing so every year for the past 7 years during the holiday season. As far as donations go, I see money as being a cop-out. Sure I can give you 5 bucks and be on my merry way, or I can give you an hour of my time, or two, or three, and my time is worth more than 5 dollars. By helping out personally I am not just giving of my pocket (which I may do also if I have faith in the charity), I am also giving my love, my effort, and my soul. I think that helps someone a thousand times more than a buck does.
If your friend was attacked (by a person, animal, or (in the magic world) beast), what would you do? I would jump in and help out, there's no way I'm going to leave them on their own. Especially if it's just one person/beast that's doing the attacking, if I join in, then the odds are now in my friend's favor. I couldn't sit idly by while my friend was beat up or killed if there was anything I could do to help out.
What is the one thing you would most like to accomplish? Getting my land. I have this deep seated desire to have 40-80 acres on which I can live and have space to have horses, goats, chickens, and my friends and children. It would be my sanctury and my save haven from the world where I could be free and myself and not have to worry about all the crap in the world.
Who is your role model? I don't have a role model. I just try to be the best person that I can be. I don't idolize anyone, I don't really have favorites beyond a color and a food, and there isn't anyone I want to be. I think that just knowing traits that I have to have in myself and working to bring them about is fine and a role model is unnecessary.
What trait most annoys you about other people? Selfishness. I cannot stand people who only think about themselves, are concerned only with what they can get out of something, and don't know how to share. I call them the "me firsters". There's a lot of them out there these days.
What do you want to do for a living? I don't think it matters so much what I do for a living. I think it's more important to ask how I want to live. I want to live free from the constraints of debt and stress. I want to be a mom and a lover and a spiritual person. I want to live on my land and love it and grow with and in it. I don't know what I want to do to make money yet. Maybe law, maybe teaching, maybe some sort of abstract job involving history. Only time can tell which will happen, but I know for sure what kind of life I want to live.
Would you ever use an Unforgivable Curse for any reason? No. Never. Period. There's a reason it's called an unforgivable curse, and there isn't a single person on this planet that would ever make me cross that line. I have more pride than that, I am a better person than that. There are far better ways to get back at my enemies (like working to take out their evil overlord). Two wrongs never make a right.
What house do you think DOESN'T fit you? (This question is optional for those who feel they just DO NOT fit in a house. Please explain WHY.) I don't think there is a house I could say I *just don't* belong in. I have a house that I like, but then again, everyone is apt to lean a little more towards one house or the other. In fact, I think it's difficult to make such a decision based on how much I do or don't know about the houses. I know very little about Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, for instance, because the books don't talk a lot about people who are in those houses. It's hard for me to understand what kinds of personalities the people in those houses have, but who am I to say whether or not it could be right for me? I'm not as well informed as I ought to be.
What do you think are your top five abilities or qualities? My top five abilities or qualities would have to be my ability to not be greatly affected by stress, have compassion and consideration for those around me, I am a good friend, a good leader, and intelligent. One of the most important things to me is respect. I have a lot of respect for myself and I demand that others respect me as well. I feel that this is something I can do because I work to live my life in a way that is considered respectable and to always maintain my ideals and my code. I will always give someone respect until they prove themselves unworthy of it. In such a case it is difficult for them to earn my respect back, but I will always be considerate and polite to them.
Where did you find out about us? OpheliasAvalon told me about it.