Warning!
I AM A CIVIL WAR GEEK!
Now that that's out of the way, carry on with the profile...
Me in 1 minute and 45 seconds:
I play softball, 1st base or outfield. I have managed to make myself known as the biggest history geek in the world to every student and teacher at my school. I absolutely adore Emily Dickinson's poetry. I have a Civil War-era dress hanging up in my closet. I can play "Dixie" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" on the piano by heart. I'm moderately funny and enjoy laughing and making people laugh. I'm a showoff, especially when it comes to playing the piano (11 years!). My classmates think I know everything, but I don't. I like big band and swing and am therefore thought of as a nerd. I consider myself a little smarter than the average teenage girl but I still have a lot to learn! I would like to major in history in college. I want to work at Gettysburg National Military Park. I've been told numerous times that I was born in the wrong century.
Speaking of which... SAVE THE GETTYSBURG ELECTRIC MAP FROM DEMOLITION! Please, save this historic landmark!
Updated: 07/24/08
Real Name: Rachel, Rach, etc. I'll even answer to Hawk. Or "Hey, you, with the unhealthy Civil War obsession!" Actually, please don't.
Age: 13-18. Guess. My birthday's April 19.
Grade: High school.
Gender: Female. Can't you tell?
Height: 5'10". Pretty tall for a girl!
Hair: Curly, long, thick, golden brown.
Eyes: Brown, flecked with green. Dark-rimmed glasses that either make me look smart or nerdy (I'm not sure which).
Heritage: Dutch, Dutch, Dutch, and...oh, did I mention I'm Dutch? The blood of the Nederlanders runs thick in my veins!
Location: Eh. Midwest United States, Great Lakes region. I was born in Michigan - go Wolverines! But I don't live there anymore. :(
Religion: I am Protestant Christian! Go God! 1 cross + 3 nails = 4given.
Political Association: Right-wing, Conservative, Republican...whatever you want to call it. It ain't called the GOP for nothin'!
Fav. Genres (to write): Historical.
Fav. Genres (to read): Historical, humor, classics (as in Charles Dickens and Jane Austen).
Fav. Time Periods: Civil War, Victorian era, Napoleon, Elizabethan England - basically, 17-19th centuries.
Fav. Bible Verse: "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadowof death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." Psalm 23:1-6. (King James Version)
What I Like: Learning about the American Civil War. Emily Dickinson's poetry. Playing softball. Reading good books. Writing (of course!). Monty Python. Playing the piano. Taking pictures. Introducing people to new things. Teaching people things they didn't know. Helping people. Sunsets. Editing classmates' papers. Getting A's. Clean houses. Elevators. The Netherlands and anything Dutch. Making people laugh. Spouting random historical facts.
Fav. Authors: T.A. Barron, Emily Dickinson, Marguerite Henry, Homer, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, God, Michael Shaara.
Fav. Books/Series: "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte, "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Persuasion" by Jane Austen, "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell, "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton, "The Lost Years of Merlin" by T.A. Barron, "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "The Great Tree of Avalon" by T.A. Barron, "King of the Wind" by Marguerite Henry, "Born To Trot" by Marguerite Henry, "Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen, "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling.
Fav. Movies/Television Shows: "Glory," "Gettysburg," "Gone With the Wind," "Persuasion" the 2008 one with Rupert Penry-Jones as Wentworth, "The Patriot," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Pride and Prejudice" with Colin Firth as Darcy, "Master and Commander," "Forrest Gump," "Malcolm in the Middle," "TopGear," "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
Fav. Quote(s):
"Sacre damn!" -Coined by a Civil War officer whose men were 50 percent French and 50 percent Confederate
"A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains." -Dutch proverb
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" -Civil War admiral David Farragut
"He was born in the Bitterroot Valley..." "IN THE EARLY MORNING RAIN!" -My friend Asia and me, singing John Denver's Wild Montana Skies
"Our faults irritate us most when we see them in others." -Dutch proverb
"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act." -Anatole France
"Where does cotton come from, class?" "Slaves!" -Mrs. McKenna and my friend Asia (very inappropriate, I know)
"His musket falls slack, his face, dark and grim, /Grows gentle with memories tender, /As he mutters a prayer for the children asleep, /And their mother--"may heaven defend her!" /The moon seems to shine forth as brightly as then-- /That night, when the love, yet unspoken, /Leaped up to his lips, and when low-murmured vows /Were pledged to be ever unbroken." -"All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight," by Ethel Lynn Eliot Beers
"Makes you wonder if at concerts in the 1860s there was a guy holding a candle yelling 'Yeah hard times come again no more!'" -Lee's ghost reborn, on Civil War RPG
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Random Stuff
I'm a mod for Civil War RPG, which is small but HIlarious! Join in the fun, won't ya!
Some tidbits about me that you may not know: I am nearly six feet tall. I actually don't mind bluegrass music in small amounts, even though I profess to hate it. I am in LOVE with Civil War music. I like cars! I can quote all of Monty Python and the Holy Grail...by heart.
A very, very special thank you to Sahara Hayden, who faithfully reviews all my useless junk! Thanks, Sahara!! I owe a lot to you and your encouraging reviews!
If you're looking for an excellent resource on the personal lives of soldiers in the American Civil War, I strongly suggest Poetry of the Civil War.
To all my fellow fantasy readers: I HIGHLY recommend this series to each and every one of you. I LOVE it!: The Lost Years of Merlin, by T.A. Barron. I also very much enjoy The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy, a carry-on of the Lost Years of Merlin. Message me if you like them, too!
UPDATES:
~12/13/06--WOO! Chapter two of The Mighty is up! I even edited chapter one, a lot. Read and enjoy!
~11/30/06--Okay, so I have been working REALLY hard on chapter two of The Mighty, and it should be up here in the next week or so! I've also fixed a lot of discrepancies in chapter one, also up soon. Thanks for your patience, everyone! And yes, my computer is recovering very nicely. I also updated my profile!
~10/21/06--Due to some incredibly unfortunate problems with my computer, all stories are ON HIATUS! My comp is having fun converting all my Microsoft Word documents into binary code. It's had a good, long life, but is now probably making its way to the great hard-drive in the sky. Thanks for your patience!
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My Stories (in alphabetical order):
A Coat of Faded Grey: IN PROGRESS. HISTORICAL FICTION. Sequel to "My Bonnie Blue Flag." Jeremiah is back! But Johnnie's dead, and Jem's leg needs to be amputated. Only his friend, Elizabeth - and his newfound love for her - can carry him through the dark months following the battle of Gettysburg.
A House Divided: COMPLETE. SHORT STORY. Louisa is caught in the middle of the American Civil War. Four of her brothers have enlisted with the US Army...but the brother she really loves the most has enlisted with the Army of Northern Virginia and has been disowned as a direct result. Two years pass, and her four brothers are killed. Then war brings the blue and grey to clash once again in Louisa's little town, and she is tending to the Yankee wounded in her yard when she spots the Rebel she really wants to see...but he is dying.
Eliza: COMPLETE. PLAY. My first play. Elizabeth Lawrence lives in Tennessee during the Civil War. Her brother runs away in 1863 to join the Union army, and so she decides to find him by dressing up as a man and enlisting, too! But it's not that simple. Especially when one of your comrades finds out who you really are - and falls in love with you.
Johnny Reb: IN PROGRESS. HISTORICAL FICTION. I love this story! Two teenagers - complete opposites, I might add - are thrown back into history. May 14, 1860, near Richmond, to be exact. Time to panic? Yeah. I'm putting a lot of work into the research for this story, so it would be really nice if you'd read and review!
My Bonnie Blue Flag: COMPLETE. HISTORICAL FICTION. I wrote this for my English class, and it was well-received. I love this story so very much. (It's my baby.) It's a novella about the battle of Gettysburg, told from the viewpoint of Jem Howell, a Confederate soldier.
The Mighty: IN PROGRESS/HIATUS. FANTASY. Okay, so I'm on the seventh draft of this story that I've been working on for two years. Please tell me if it's worth it. I am trying so hard on this! I would definitely like to try to get it published, so ANY help is welcome. Please note that the instant the manuscript is dropped in the mailbox I will delete it off FP.com! But that won't be for a long time, so...yeah.
This Land is Your Land: ON HIATUS. HISTORICAL FICTION. I've just realized how ickily written it is, so once things settle down here, I'll try to edit it...I think it needs it. Oh well!
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Visit my fanfiction.net profile! Note: I share this profile with my friend from school, Katelyn.
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