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Please give a short bio of yourself for our readers. I was born, February 8, 1979 in Toronto, Ontario. That makes me a Canadian and an Aquarius. Some days I think those things are more important than others. I grew up in a little town on the north shore of Nova Scotia. That is where all my fondest childhood memories were made. We moved back to Ontario when I was thirteen. Now I'm twenty-two, still living at home, and going to the University of Waterloo. I'm an English major in my third year, studying Rhetoric and Professional Writing. I'm also in the co-op program, which means I alternate four months of school with four months of work experience. During my time at school, I've met some of the most beautiful, intelligent and entertaining people I've ever had the pleasure to know. Like anyone my age, I'm learning to accept who I am, not to stress about the things I can't control, and most importantly, how to stand up for myself. It's a bumpy ride sometimes, but I'm surviving, and in the end, that's what counts. That, and having a little fun now and again. Why did you choose this username? I decided to use ramanda, (a nickname some of my friends at school had given me) because it was simple and not already taken by the zillions of lucky people who found Diaryland before I did. The origin of the nickname is a long story involving some silliness, inside jokes and silent r's. It won't make much sense or be funny to anyone else, which was why I was rather dreading this particular question. Maybe I'll write an entry about that one of these days. . . Why do you keep a diary online? Unlike most of the people who have diaries online, I never really kept a journal before I started one here in Diaryland. I got the idea from Cosmic Amanda who I knew through a mailing list we both used to be on. I started reading her diary in January of 2001 and was quickly convinced it was something I needed to start doing. As I read through her archives I saw how she had grown, I noticed the patterns in her life and I learned from them, not just about Amanda, but also about myself. I was at a point in my own life where I was feeling lost, and I thought if I had a place to record and archive my thoughts, that maybe I could start to learn a little more about me. Maybe other people are learning from me too. I hope they are. Mostly, I'm an attention whore. Take a look around my diary, it's far from subtle. I'm a diva and I'm all about showboating. It's nice to have an audience, to know that I'm not just spilling these words out into a little book where I'm locking them away. People are reading me. Some of them know me, some don't, but either way we're all sharing and communicating and learning and growing and yeah it's way cheesy, but I really have come to care about the people I read. They know who they are. How important do you think a layout is for a web-based diary? Would you also comment on yours? Above I alluded to the fact that my layout is indicative of my personality. It's big and maybe a bit clumsy, but it's cute and well organized and even if you don't really like how it looks, it's easy to get along with. Wow. I think the fact that I can compare myself to a web page layout is probably indicative of the fact that I'm a pretty big geek too. I think a layout is important because (for me) it makes or breaks the diary experience. It's not just about the words, it's also about the pictures and the colours and the ideas that those things bring to mind. I don't have an issue with the Diaryland templates in particular, but none of them represented me at all. I'm pretty worried about coming off as a snob here. Especially since my layout needs some work. I think a good layout should contribute to the experience of reading a diary, while not taking away from the author's thoughts. You mention a "loss of innocence but a gain in experience" with Harmony & Mike. Elaborate on who Harmony & Mike are, what they mean to you, and how they have influenced your life. Seeing myself quoted out of context that way automatically made me think that maybe people read that and thought I had a threesome with them and it changed my life. Ha! "A loss of innocence but a gain in experience." Does that sentence even make sense? Anyway, I've known Harmony since the tenth grade. Mike is her fianc�. They've been together since the ninth grade and are getting married next fall. I'm gonna be a bridesmaid and I'm pretty excited about that. I've seen these two through a lot. They've taught me about love. Growing up with them I learned that you don't have to be perfect for someone to fall in love with you. You just have to be you and have faith in the right person coming along at the right moment. That's a comforting thought for someone who falls in love every five minutes, always with disastrous results. As a Liberal Arts student, what object or event in your life speaks the most to you and why? I have no idea what object or event speaks to me most. They all speak to me at once I suppose. Some pretty bad things have happened to me, but I don't want to dwell on them. Some really awesome things have happened to me too, but it seems silly to list them. This is already way too long as it is. Music speaks to me, and books, people I meet, food I've eaten, things I've seen. I know the pale magic that lies in cigarettes. I know the words to songs I'll never forget. I know the faces of people who I've loved and learned from. I know that the words I've read in books are now written on the parchment of my brain. I can't ever pick just one of anything. Maybe I'm greedy. Maybe it's a cop out. Maybe that's not for me to decide. Maybe my whole life has been too magic, too sad, too perfect and too beautiful all at once. What part of college life have you enjoyed the most? The least? What aspect of your learning has had the most impact in your life thus far? University rocks. I know that I'll never have this much freedom, or this many opportunities to experiment. This is going to make me sound like a lame, drunken college student, but I think the best part of school has been the social aspect. Not just because I like to go out and get trashed, but because through partying, going on road trips, movie nights, dancing at the alternative bar, and slacking off in the student union, I've gotten to know some fantastic people. The part I've enjoyed the least? The pressure. Moving every 4 months because of co-op, having to deal with roommates, or with my parents, having to worry about money, and work responsibilities, essay deadlines and job applications. It's all very draining and it's hard sometimes to appreciate the experience you're getting when you're exhausted and still have papers to write and interviews to go to. In fact, co-op has definitely the most impact. It turns your life upside down. That being said, having real work experience has also given me a lot of confidence in my abilities and in my future. I may not know yet what I want to do when I grow up, but I'm trying different thingsn and that's a start. As one of my favourite songwriters says: "Small steps in the right direction are worth more than a thousand big ones in the wrong." What fruit would you be and why? =) Mmmm fruit. I think I'm probably a pear. We'll say nothing of how my body resembles a pear. Pears are easily bruised. They're not exotic, but they're not totally common, like say, apples. They're sweet, and they go well with other fruit (like in fruit salad). The taste of a pear is unmistakable. I'd like to think I'm a lot like a pear, overly sensitive, yet charming, sweet and unforgettable. Interviewed by Witchgirl
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