I think I've always been an elf, only I didn't realize it until I read ElfQuest by Wendy and Richard Pini. Being an elf to me is a matter of feeling and thinking as one. Of course behaving like one helps, too. Well, let's see, then. I grew up in a house by the woods, and my earliest memories are of the forest, the trees, tiny paths, and forest berries that I used to pick. I knew (still do) many herbs and when they are most potent, and where they grow. It was one of the coolest things for me to go gather the herbs in the summer with my grandfather and our dog.
That's another thing. Even though I never bonded with wolves a la Pini's elves, I always had a dog. I think I've always understood animals, maybe even better than humans. Perhaps I grew up beside society rather than inside it. I tend to love things for what they are rather than for what could be made out of them. I've never had an urge to destroy just for the sake of destroying.

I do not want to go to heaven after I die, if Heaven is a place of eternal happiness. First of all, how can one be happy when there are people still suffering here on Earth? I think it is increadibly selfish and egotistic. Secondly, happiness is not an absolute value, it is discovered and appreciated by comparison to the suffering one has endured, is it not? Therefore, having only this blissful contentedness to reflect on, how will I be able to appreciate it? Sure I will be happy, but how will I know that I am happy? Besides, I'm not at all sure that I even want to be eternally happy. Such a state is stagnant, like a stone on the face of the earth. And if going to Heaven will change my opinion on that, if I will become this happy soul, blissful and overjoyed, I do not want to go there more so, because that will not be me. Although I guess I should not worry about going to Heaven after what I've said here, now, should I?

To all those who fret at how bad they are at drawing I have one thing to say, "you've got to be obsessed with drawing enough to keep drawing even when all that comes out is crap. You will get better, just keep drawing. That, and you've got to have a sharp eye. Observe everything. How people move, how the limbs connect to the body. How the branches twist. How the sunlight falls on somebody's face. Do not be afraid to stare. Make yourself be aware of all those wonderful things that make up life. Aside from learning how to draw you'll learn how to appreciate life."

Ok, I'm going to be hunted down and shot to death after this one, but I just have to say it. I think that this whole racism/antiracism thing is going a little too far. I think the matter of Jar Jar Binks in the new Star Wars movie showcased it quite nicely. A lot of people seemed to think that Jar Jar was a caricature on African Americans because of his accent, I suppose. Well, guess what? An accent means nothing. I'm often thought to be an Irish or French, and believe me, I do not try to make my accent sound like any of the aforementioned. Besides, in my uneducated opinion, African Americans usually belong to homo sapiens species, and have skin color ranging from dark brown to caramel; whereas Jar Jar is clearly an alien and has orange skin and two-foot ears. Seriously, I think those who feel like crying 'racism' at Lucas should try and get out more. Maybe even get a life.
I do realize that less than a decade ago racism was a serious issue, but now those who try to create cases on the beach sand only make the whole struggle for equal rights seem silly and brainless.