So. Here's a bit of a longer answer, hope you enjoy. :)
8. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
1. My Nonno.
My Nonno (equivalent to Grandpa in Italian) was an amazing man. He was a faithful Catholic, Math WHIZ, and so gentle and loving to my also-amazing Nonna and to all of us. He never lost his patience when he was teaching me math, and he taught me so much about how to be honorable and kind to all you know. He truly was a great man, and I really miss him! †Please pray for me, Nonno.†
2. My Nonna.
My Nonna (as you may have guessed, equivalent to grandma in Italian) inspires me every single time I see her. She is a pure and humble and AMAZING Catholic, a fantabulous cook, and she teaches me so much about how to be a great house-wife, and to keep her cool and be gentle even when she has every right to be upset.
3. (Hey big-combo here! I know it's not one person... it's more like a unit of people. LOL) My dad and mom, and all the rest of my family, really.
My family is quite diverse -- my dad is 100% Italian, my mom is Lebanese and Irish and we have a great big happy family rather like the family in "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding." We're all good Catholics who strive to follow Christ in what He taught us in the Scripture, and yes, we're loud and emotional, but so, SO loving. My dad and mom have a lot of experience -- my dad at one point owned his own company, and my mom was a reporter who woke up at 3 am every morning to be on the air, but felt a change of heart after she had two kids, and has been home-schooling us for the past 18 + years. They both know so much, and help me in my faith-life, physically and emotionally. They're seriously the best parents a girl could have! :) I really appreciate the lessons my 22 y.o. big bro Alex, my 19 y.o. big sis Annalisa, and my lil siblings Paul, 14, Sarah, 12, and Catherine, 8. My older siblings have taught me a lot about college-age type problems, like relationship tips and how to be a chaste and yet really loving person, and tips for papers and other work/school related ethics. My little siblings have taught me how important it is to be a little silly and just have fun. We have done, still are doing, and definitely will never stop doing crazy and fun stuff, and life is *never* boring with them. :D
4. Saint Gianna.
Gianna is the name I took for my confirmation name one year ago. St. Gianna has inspired me by her quietly and gently heroic story to be a great, extremely Pro-Life and Catholic mother, while she still had a career and was raising three kids -- a lot of the time on her own, since her husband had to travel a lot. I've read some of the letters she wrote her husband and the letters she wrote to members of her Christian girls group, and they really show what an amazing, down-to-earth kind of person she was. She's pretty much a more Catholic and less pioneering Laura Ingalls-Wilder to me. :D Thank you Jesus for sending us St. Gianna!
5. The Inklings. (yep, another groupie.)
The Inklings group was comprised of J. R. R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. What do I even have to say? These men were soooo gifted. Tolkien wrote a wonderful fantasy series that was so beautifully real, and has inspired me to write my own stories like no other book has; Clive Staples m'boy wrote such a wonderful allegorical series that helped me to realize in a simple, and yet fantastical way how sweet and gentle Jesus is, and how each of us are affected by His love and the saving power He has given us by His Great Sacrificial Offering. G.K. Chesterton...well I've read some of the Father Brown books he wrote, and they were really quite funny and interesting. I think the books Chesterton wrote were kind of more insightful as to the human character, and I really look forward to reading more of his works. (Any of you have suggestions for the next book of his I should read?)
6. General Robert E. Lee. (Yep, you knew one of these had to be something historical. lol)
So. I just wrote a paper on Lee, and looked into his life a lot more deeply than I thought I would have. He was a really complex man, and one who has inspired a lot of people through his very dutiful mind-set. While he was w. the Union he fought brilliantly and bravely, and the same when he was with the Confederacy, even if I believe he was on the wrong side with the Rebels. :D (Hey, I'm from Michigan! I'm going to be biased...anywho this is my blog.) He was a Christian man who apparently didn't really like slavery, and yet fought for the Rebs. He thought secession was wrong, and yet fought for the Rebs. Mostly I admire his belief in personal and state rights, and the fact that he wouldn't accept what *he* perceived to be a bit of a tyrannical government. (Disclaimer ya'lls: Obviously I would never agree with slavery or secession, but I am a proud gun-totin', Bible-thumpin' citizen, and will fight tooth, nail and Remington 870 12 gauge against a tyrannical government, which is pretty much what our government is at the moment.) SO. Although he was on the wrong side, Lee is pretty inspiring.
7. Well. Here's a list of all the fictional characters that have influenced me and why. It's kind of long. :
1. From Hobbit/LOTR: Faramir -- he was down-to-earth and really strong, able to recover from the effects of having a creeeeepy dad and taking part in a cray-cray awesome war, while still getting a hot and sweet chick. Aragorn -- he was a king, yet he didn't put on any airs. He just bided his lil ol time and helped save the world. Nothing big. :) He really inspires me to be awesome. Samwise Gamgee -- Ah, faithful lil Sammy boy. I love Sam the bestest. He was always faithful, always helpful, even if he didn't quite know the whole story all the time. And of course, if he hadn't been there Frodo never would have made it. *SRSLY* Gandalf -- because he's awesome and has awesome powers and saved the world. Frodo -- because he kept going even if he slightly despaired at times, and he was, most of the time, ready to give his life for his Quest to save Middle Earth. Merry & Pippin -- because they were funny and light-hearted, yet still had a part in helping save Middle Earth through their individual adventures with the Rohirrim and in Gondor, respectively. And everyone else, pretty much, for a bunch of different reasons, but likely this is already getting boring to you. So I'll just try to be quick here with the fictional dudes. Sherlock Holmes -- because he was a great mastermind and yet tried to be a loyal friend always. :D John Watson -- because he was always a loyal friend who never doubted Sherlock, even when it was hard to trust him, and because I want to marry him (his wife's nae was Mary, so it isn't too hard to imagine). Peeps from Harry Potter include Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron, Sirius and oh my word so many other people. You know what, I'm going to have to do another post on fictional people. SO YEAH.
And I think I might come back later and do the last three people/groups of people. So tune in later, maybe this weekend? when I'll write some more, even if no one's listening, this is a great place for my thoughts. :D
~The American-Italian Chick~
~Maria Elizabetta Gianna Tombelli~
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