aliyah marie chandler

[aliyah]

ALIYAH MARIE CHANDLER

Name: Aliyah Marie Chandler
Nicknames: Ali, Al
Age: Twenty
Date of Birth: May 21st
Grade: Freshman
Orientation: Heterosexual
Nationality: American (Greek mother, Irish father)
Home Town: Chicago, IL
Degree: Visual Arts

[/b] Photography
- Minor: Stage Acting[/ul]
Play by: Erika Altosaar[/blockquote][/blockquote]

--- ORGANIZED Aliyah is organized almost to the point of being OCD. Her room is in top shape, and if someone disrupts it she is easily annoyed. She will feel uncomfortable in a messy room, will reorganize business cards in the coffee shop, and put clothes in their respective place that someone else has left out while shopping. Her lists are very important to her, and she writes them every morning in the coffee shop or the kitchen counter where she eats before going on with her day. Since it has the potential to change she keeps it close at hand, and usually has a pencil left behind her ear in the event of a quick change. If anything were to happen to one of her lists, she would probably go crazy. It only happened once, and it took her a few days to get back into the swing of things. But her mind is so active and day filled with so many things to do, her list keeps her in check.

--- SARCASTIC It is a bit of an issue and something she picked up from her mother, but Aliyah can be extremely sarcastic. It isn't so bad and mostly casual when she's talking to a friend or a teacher, and can be seen more as wit, but get her around someone she doesn't want to talk to and it can get nasty. Because of this trait she sometimes comes off as snooty or a smart alek, which yes she can be if talking to certain people. She won't intentionally hurt anyone unless they give her a really good reason to, and since she's the sort to hold grudges, she can get pretty bad.

--- BOLD&BLUNT Another trait that can contribute to her seeming snooty is her tendency to be very honest and straight forward about her thoughts. If someone asks for her opinion, she will give it completely and unguarded, usually, not often thinking before speaking. She doesn't believe in giving people false hope, so if someone sucks at something, she will tell them straight up that they sucked. Being only 5'0, people may not take her too seriously, but her boldness quickly shows them she does not play around.

--- RECKLESS Look before you leap is something Ali never really got in her head. Being the "go, go, go!" sort of person she is, she often forgets to think before actually doing something. Having a tendency to get caught in the moment, she often finds herself in awkward situations she has to work her way out of that she could have avoided if thinking before acting. It makes her aware, though, and a quick problem solver if problems do arise. It also makes her a bit of a thrill seeker, and if its haunted houses, roller coasters, scary rides, she's right there and ready for them. Not much scares her... so she thinks.

--- MISCHIEVOUS Since she was young, she always liked playing tricks on people, especially her brother and her brother's friends when they came over. She was like the little brother who shot their older siblings prom dates with toy darts, except she was a girl in overalls. Until high school she was a huge tomboy, and was always getting lost in stores and causing havoc on the playground, often getting sat in time out for being "out of control". But even though she has calmed into a young woman, that mischievous glint has never left her eye. She likes sneaking up on people and bending people to her will, and revels in the shock she gives people when they discover she has been at their side for about a minute. It's almost a hobby.

--- THOUGHTFUL Despite her tough exterior, Aliyah is constantly doing things for the good of others, offering her assistance and remembering important dates. Being the tough seeming person she is, she has always been a good shoulder to cry on, though if the person is looking for her to baby them they won't get it. Not that she cares, but wants to give constructive criticize. This often results in people not caring as much for her as she does for them, and her finding out that she isn't as important to some people she has practically set aside her life for, like her ex boyfriend. She has a bit of trouble showing this side of her, liking to do nice things in secret like leave a box of chocolate at someone's door, which makes her a bit awkward when it comes to physical affection. Never having been one much for hugs, she will cringe when receiving them unless out of public from a significant other. It isn't because she doens't really care for them or is embarrassed to be with them, but public affection is a strange thought in her mind. Couples constantly making out in public sicken her, and it takes a bit for her to even hold hand with someone, even a boyfriend. But once she warms up to someone, she can be very affectionate... as long as she isn't in public.

--- WHIMSICAL The thought of magic and mystery inspire and drive her. Does she believe in fairies? Deep down she knows they don't exist, but she stifles that part of her mind, liking the thought that there can be some magic in this world. Her mind is constantly dreaming and working, getting ideas and visions that she often turns into pictures. Most of the pictures she takes of models have some sort of mystic or magic undertone. It's a side of her that few see because she is admittedly a bit embarrassed by it, and is reluctant to share it.

LIKES:
- Clubbing
- Autumn
- Black and white photography
- Roller coasters
- Fireplaces
- Dance
- Rose petals
- Tea
- Long socks
- Swimming
- Watching movies
- Wandering
- Theaters

DISLIKES:
- Being hugged (unless by significant other)
- Bees
- Wearing shoes indoors
- People who think it's "cool to be bad"
- Losing
- Celery
- Cliche romance novels
- Wusses
- People downing themselves
- Bright colors
- Over eccentric people
- Fakes

Aliyah’s story begins in a decent, middle class part of Chicago, where her mother and father were screaming at each other as he packed his things and left, then as soon as he started the ignition, and right before he could close the door, she shrieked “I’m pregnant again!”.
Well, it didn’t make him stick around, but that is where Aliyah began. She was born into a single parent home, her father made that clear, but did agree to send money to support her. Not her mother, but his children, another point he made very clear. Aliyah’s mother, Giselle, was a painter, art obsessed with paint brushes in her hair and her “office” walls covered in large pieces of paper, splattered with multicolored paints. Her father was a journalist living in the city, with his classy apartment with classy parties and classy wine. Aliyah and her older brother by two years would go back and forth between the houses. She didn’t really prefer one or the other, because each had its perks and annoyances. As a young girl she was wild and reckless, a tomboy to try to fit in with her brother, who she followed everywhere. She stole his clothes and played pranks on him constantly in an effort to impress and gain fearful respect from his friends. She got lost in expensive stores and would chase her brother through the mall with a ketchup bottle in her hands.

It was her father who got her involved in photography. He only did it as a hobby, but Aliyah would go to his desk every day, get the box down from the shelf, and go through his black and white pictures every time she visited. It was the only time she was quiet, as her father would joke, but he took her interest seriously and purchased a camera for her, teaching her and enrolling her in summer classes. Her mother took this as an attack, a ploy to get her to like her more, and started playing on her other artistic interests, like acting and singing, and enrolled her in classes for those. Aliyah just went with it, liking both too much to care about the intention behind them. In a way, she was using her situation to her advantage. She liked to go to the park in the city and take pictures with her father, and she liked seeing her mother’s face and the faces of the girls around her when they discovered she could sing Alicia Keys for voice class.

Her concerned father started to wonder if she was ADHD. Her mother said it was simply a mixture of strong spirit and childhood. Her mother ended up right about that one, because when she got older she would gradually calm down. In the third grade, however, her brother made a friend named Levi, who Aliyah took an instant “disliking” to. Their personalities clashed perfectly, and for years it was like World War III between them, bickering and pranking one another up into their early teens. Then, puberty hit, and the two started to realize that they actually didn’t mind the other’s company. Once they were able to push aside their stubborn ways, they admitted they liked each other and started dating, much to her brother’s disgust, but he did admit he wouldn’t like her with any other guy. The two, despite their competitive past, got along quite well as a couple. Naturally, they had their arguments, but they became rarer and rarer as they stayed together. Years added up, feelings grew, but so did they. In Aliyah’s mind, everything was going just fine. She was head over heels, something the former eccentric tomboy thought she would never become, but she didn’t mind being so unguarded around him. In a way, she liked being unable to hide her feelings from him. The only problem that they had in her mind was how he constantly pressed her to take things to the next level, but she had a strong sense of abstinence, something her mother lacked and her father preached. She didn’t want the same problem her parents had. She didn’t think it was that big of a deal, though, because he said things like “forever” around her, even planning to go to Emerson, the school she had been dying to go to since her interest in photography sparked because her father had gone there before dropping out to marry.

But her fairytale ended his senior year, when he broke up with her, seemingly out of the blue. He told her it was because of distance, and said that they were too young to get as serious as they were, but she immediately deduced her version of the real reason behind it: he was a young man going off to college, and she wasn’t going to be there for another two years. And she wouldn’t sleep with him. Naturally heartbroken, she refused to apply for Emerson so she wouldn’t have to be around him, and attended community college after she graduated for a year. During that time, it seemed as if Emerson popped up everywhere she looked, calling to her. Finally, she gave in, putting her past behind her and applied.
She was accepted a month later.


Why Emerson?
Her father had attended Emerson before dropping out to marry his pregnant girlfriend, and encouraged her to attend, saying it was the best place to go to get a photography degree. Though her she also had a singing talent and a flair for theatrical arts, she decided photography was her passion, and wanted to pursue that more than the others. She had planned to go there with her boyfriend, but when he broke up with her she refused and attended community college for two years. In that time, she slowly realized how ridiculous her decision was and finally applied, sending in her portfolio, and was accepted.

There were many candles lit that night.
Angelina didn’t think of herself as a weak person. She was always called strong-willed, like her aunt, who she was named after. “Strong like Angel” her mother always said with a sad laugh, shaking her head “I see so much of her in you…”
That evening, Angelina felt weaker than she ever had in her entire life. Her hands trembled slightly as they were clasped, pressed under her chin, eyes closed. A sigh escaped her lips, the millionth one that evening, she swore. It had been a stressful evening… the news, all this… madness.
Pure madness… she thought, feeling the left side of her head throb. No doubt a migraine was coming on.
Her hand dropped to hover over the table, fingers lightly brushing the scribble on the parchment lying before her. She couldn’t remember a time a letter had made her feel so much at once; overwhelming joy, overwhelming sadness, clashing together in a flurry of confusion that had not yet faded.
Inhaling deeply, she refolded the letter, though she ached to read it again and again, more and more, just to make sure she’d read it correctly, that there was no misunderstanding. But each time she read it, it hit her harder: it was all true. Everything in that letter meant everything it had meant the first time she read it, and would never change.
Like that night…

The Yule Ball… she remembered her Yule Ball. A smile, faint and sad, passed over her lips.
I went with Fred… she thought, biting her lip as she looked down at the folded letter. He’d asked her across the table, during Potions. She remembered they’d danced like maniacs… that was the year Cedric died, when that whole mess started…
An audible laugh escaped her lips. Damn… when was the last time she’d even thought of all that crap?
She shook her head, her smile fading as she remembered the letter. Students… dead on a night that was supposed to be one of the happiest and memorable nights of their lives. A tear dropped into the table, seemingly out of nowhere. She wiped her eyes to check for more, and upon finding none, looked about at the kitchen, at the five candles she lit, one for each student, and to calm her. Cupcake scented, of course. Angelina’s mother was obsessed with candles, and she swore she would never get into that practice. As soon as she got the letter, however, she knew that if she didn’t smell cupcakes soon, George might not have a house to come home to by the time her temper died down. The first idea that came to mind was candles. But who would sell cupcake candles, she’d asked herself, forgetting her coat as she exited the house.
The reaction she gave when she found one undoubtedly spooked the storeowner. She bought five, set them around her house, and lit them. She instantly felt better… though she could feel her headache coming on. That was, however, the least of her worries. What she was regretting was telling her husband what had happened…
No doubt he’d be home soon she thought, glancing at the clock. He’d gone out for a night with friends… maybe he’d heard?
He’ll want to know about the kids…
Her fingers brushed the letter as yet another sigh escaped her. At least they were okay… but what about the mothers out there? The mothers who would never get letters from their children again? She breathed out heavily, folding her hands and laying her head on them, looking in prayer. It was luck… one of those mothers could have been her…

Hi, I'm ALICE and I'm EIGHTEEN old. I'm MISCHEVIOUS. This is my SECOND application. I found Failure's Not Flattering from ANOTHER SITE.

[/size][/center][/justify][/size]

picture (c) sparks

[- JESSE]

[/size][/justify]