An-Ni-Mal! An-Ni-Mal! ANIMAL!

I got a thing!  THREE TIMES!!!

A massive thank you to earthqueenami (The Kanto Legacy, an utterly hilarious rainbowacy inspired by the pokemon Kanto region), Violincat (Our Different Paths, a beautifully written Difference in the Family Tree challenge story) and Kate (The Loewe Legacy, a tale of intrigue and equestrians in beautiful Monte Vista) for nominating me for the Spirit Animal Award (which I’ll probably shorten to Animal Award out of sheer laziness)!  Also!  Thanks to ixot for the super awesome badge above that I totally didn’t steal!  Twice!  😀

Alright, before we get into the fun bits of this award, there a few things I’d like to say.  So, I seriously contemplated hopping on that bus going ’round calling this the Patronus Award; it’s just that cool!  However, this is an issue near and dear to my heart.  “Spirit” and “Animal” are just two words.  No one owns either.  “Spirit Animal” is a phrase composed of two words.  No one owns that either.  I say this as a Midwesterner with Native American ancestors, so I think my opinion on this counts for at least a little bit.  I’m all for people practicing their religion/beliefs, but I greatly dislike when they try to put restrictions on other people because they feel self-conscious at times.  It’s like they can’t see how hypocritical they’re being.  Stop being so sensitive!  If you believe in something, OWN IT!  Don’t whine about racism or sexism.  If anything, this is the kind of stuff that trivializes those actually serious topics.

This wasn’t to chastise anyone who changed the name of the award or anything.  Like I said, the Patronus Award sounds so amazingly awesome, I almost went with it!  I just wanted to throw my opinion out into the unrelenting wild that is the internet.  Okay!  Rules!

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Animal Award Acceptance Rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you, and link back to their page.
• Post the award picture on your blog (image by ixot)
• Write a short paragraph about yourself
• Write about what your blog means to you
• If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?
• Nominate 10 other lovely peoples!

One, done!  Two, done!  (Such an awesome badge)  Three!  Hmm…three.

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About Me and the Mayfields!

I’m a 23-year-old university graduate.  Just graduated May 14th, in fact!  I studied mathematics and physics with a specialty in astrophysics.  I got bachelors degrees in both.  Two pieces of paper!  Two!  But only one case.  Sad days.  Anyway!  What don’t you know?

I’m the eldest of four children, all girls, and the only one to breach the 5′ 4″ mark.  I’m 5′ 7″.  My sisters.  So much envy.    I attended a Christian academy until 2nd grade, whereupon I was homeschooled until I entered college.  I’m not much one for sweets, but I’ll never say no to chocolate.  Or mediera cake.  Mmmm, mediera.  It’s like an entire carton of eggs in a pound cake.  Fucking awesome!

Now, enough about me!

The Mayfields, a Sims 3 Story, began as just something I thought was neat and wanted to share.  It was my very first Sims 3 game, so very dear to me.  But it’s kind’ve become my scheduled hobbytime, if that makes sense.  😛  I try to post chapters in a timely manner, so that gives me the excuse to write in a timely manner.  Every week I can give myself a certain amount of time to write the next chapter.  And it’s okay that I’m giving myself that time, because my posting schedule says I need to do it anyway.  Enjoying the activity is just the perk.  😉

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Fluffy’s True Form!

Okay, so if I could choose ANY animal to be, I’d pick a house cat.  Pets whenever I want, food without going to the grocery store, no care for bills or getting to work on time.  Man, life is pretty sweet for a cat.

As for the animal I’d actually end up being, just based on who I am, well…I took a bunch of quizzes, like, a TON.  And, to be honest, most of them seemed like they were written by thirteen-year-old airheads.  So, I looked up a bit about spirit animals and chose the one that fit best.

The Coyote is a Trickster.  It shares its wisdom in very cryptic or roundabout ways.  It can represent change and playfulness, specifically not taking things too seriously.  It warns of darkness and using your own skills to adapt to different situations.  It also represents the concept of paradox, for example: All things are sacred, and yet nothing is sacred, which I love.

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Reasons I’m like the Coyote:

My family moved around a LOT when I was a kid, roughly every other year until I started college.  Getting used to different places, different people, different points of view, I’ll say that takes some adapting, yeah.

Honestly, the first thing that jumped out at me about the Coyote is the “not taking things too seriously” part.  I’ve always thought that there’s a place and a time for seriousness, just like everything else.  In a professional setting, like class or work, or during serious discussions, I’m a very serious person.  I analyze everything extensively, and I try to do so as logically and as unbiased as I can.  Outside that, though, I’m fun-loving and rather excitable!

Too much seriousness leads to people taking things too seriously.  I think the world could be a much better place if people learned to laugh a bit instead of getting instantly offended.  Some things aren’t nice.  Some things WILL upset you.  But humans invented humor to deal with all the stuff that make us feel uncomfortable.  You can choose to get upset and cry, or you can laugh it off.  I usually choose to laugh it off.  Bullies always hated that.  😉

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As for the Nominations:

The Dysfunkshinul Legacy — a tongue-in-cheek ride of no fucks given by Gryffindork7.  Sorry man, I was in Slytherin.

The Rourke Epic Legacy — a legacy genetics melting pot by Somebodysangel13 that I only just started.  Already love!

The Freshman Legacy — a fun-filled patriarchy in good-old Sunset Valley!

The Loewe Legacy — an intriguing tale of a family of equestrians making it in Monte Vista (I didn’t realize she’d nominated me until I was ready to post this)

Eight Cicadas — an Immortal Dynasty challenge story that focuses on those grayer areas of morality

Sim Salad — An exploration of all the ways to kill a sim.  Quite educational!  😉

The Gordon Legacy — starts with an irresistible witch!  What’s not to like?  🙂

The Maitland Round-Robin Legacy — there’s a mouthful!  A legacy passed around some simmers from Boolprop.  Check it!

As Far as the World Goes — a sims 3 comic book absolutely packed with drama and intrigue.  Amazing.  Just amazing.

Legacies of the Sims — a very interesting tale of a young orphaned girl.  Veeeery interesting.  Beware the Sims 4.

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Geez!  That was long!  Sorry, I kept writing this on my tablet, ever since my first nomination, and it just kept getting longer and longer!  I’ve tried to prune it down, but I’ve given up.