All you need to know in 100 words

My name is Michelle Fernandez, but I’m usually referred to as Marmie, Chelle, or Worm. I live in a small New Jersey suburb, about twenty minutes from New York City, but I haven’t been a suburbanite all my life. I grew up in the Philippines and Queens, and those parts of my childhood have given me a sense of social responsibility when it comes to living life. I’m surrounded by my family, and am one of 29 first cousins on my father’s side alone. I found solace in books as a young child, and they are still my best friends. (100w)

I'm kind of a narcissist



I was a beauty pageant queen many many moons ago



We might as well be sisters



to be continued...

And everything else you didn't need to know

Favorite color: pink
Favorite kind of music: oh gosh, rock, alt rock, some emo
Favorite songs: right now, the fray's how to save a life, madonna's crazy for you, and augustana's boston
Favorite poems: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver, Portrait d'une Femme and In a Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound, The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot, and I can't even choose out of Mark Doty's, or Pablo Neruda's work.
Favorite season: Spring.
Favorite holiday (and why): Christmas. It's such a tangible time of year.
Least favorite holiday (and why): Groundhog's Day, because it's stupid.
Favorite movies: Amelie, Donnie Darko, The Little Mermaid, City of God...
Favorite T.V. shows: Grey's Anatomy, Nip/Tuck, Project Runway, Desperate Housewives
Favorite wild animal: Unicorns, I don't care what you say - they do exist!
Favorite domestic animal: doggies!
If I had a pet, it would be: a white Siberian Husky or Maltese
My favorite alcoholic beverage is: Amaretto Sour and Appletinis
My favorite non-alcoholic beverage is: Raspberry emonade
My favorite meal is: Fettucini Alfredo with shrimp, scalops, and thin bits of ham
My favorite snack is: Ice cream, specifically, Godiva's Vanilla with Chocolate Hearts
My favorite dessert is: Banana and chocolate crepes
My favorite fruit is: Granny smith apples
My favorite vegetable is: Cucumber
My favorite people are: Supportive
My least favorite people are: Defeatists
I like to watch these sports: Baseball, basketball, volleyball
I like to participate in these sports or exercises: Volleyball, swimming, softball
My favorite teams are: Yankees!!
My favorite newspaper cartoon is: not really a comics person
My favorite T.V. cartoon is: The Simpsons
My favorite manner of dress is: Cute and Casual

My signature scent: Guess.
My hobbies are: Writing, reading, photography, painting
I collect: life's moments, blinks of nature
My occupation is: Job Hunter!
My politics are: I'm pretty liberal, but I choose not to formerly associate myself with a party, or any label at that.
My religion is: Roman catholic
I feel this about religion: I think institutions are great places to foster community and service, but one's relationship with God is not within Church walls.
My social life: Quiet, with a few tremors here and there. In other words, I need to stop being shy.
My ideal mate: Still m.i.a.
An ideal date: Sweet, Fun, Comfy
This is how I feel about sex: Once you start, you just can't stop. j/k, seriously. Do it when you're ready - but be prepared for all that comes with it.
Marriage: A piece of paper. Love can exist without it.
Divorce: Another piece of paper, as a result of malfunctions within the first piece of paper mentioned above.
A friend: Knows the worst thing about you, but loves you nonetheless.
Crowds: Claustrophobic
Racism: I'm appalled and sad that we continue to see it.
If money were no object: objects would be money. Man has a way of changing something into a form of currency.
If I had three wishes:
1) An actual relationship with my grandparents.
2) For my parents to be happy, well, and at peace as they grow older.
3) To publish a solid piece of work.
My country: Philippines and the US

My greatest strengths are: Adapting to various points of view and having the ability to verbalize my thoughts, even the ones I wasn't even consciously thinking
My greatest weaknesses are: Lack of discipline, procrastinator, a little flaky
My greatest fears are: Abandonment, forgetting, disappointing others
I am also afraid of: Spiders, deathly afraid - by deathly I mean I experience anxiety attacks and hyperventilate.
It’s hard for me to: See tomorrow sometimes.
These things make me angry: Getting blown off.
These things make me sad: Injustice, betrayal
These things make me happy: Sunrises, beauty - in all its forms, finishing
The most dangerous thing I ever did: Tylenol.
I felt heroic when: I was teaching in Thailand.
I felt like a coward when: see dangerous thing question.
My favorite possessions: My photographs.
I trust these people: Fathima, Jorie, Caresse, Jona
My relationship with my mother: It's becoming.
My relationship with my father: ditto.
My relationship with my sibling: I have to try harder to be a better sister.
Some scents that evoke positive emotions: Food.
Some scents that evoke negative emotions: Food.
These things are in my pockets / purse: Credit card, $7.63, lip gloss, cell phone, mini Moleskin notebook, black pen, Tiffany & co. bookmark, dogeared copy of Carl Sanburg's book Chicago Poems
These are my favorite quotes:
Wisdom begins in wonder. - Socrates
We grow small trying to be great. - David Hockney

Childhood: Wish I remembered more of it.
My earliest memory: Eating unidentified substance at the beach in Tiolas, San Joaquin (Philippines).
My favorite toy as a child: The Barbies my dad brought from America.
When I was a child, my mother: Was my best friend.
When I was a child, my father: The man who brought grapes (very very expensive in the Philippines).
When I was a child, my sibling: Was adorable.
My mother’s cooking: Five stars!
My father’s cooking: In a can.
My mother always said:
My father always said:
My grandparents: Wish I knew them better.
My extended family: My extended family.
Pets I remember: My rabbit, Charlie! Wait, I think it was from my Tito Charlie. But anyway, my rabbit!
The house where I lived as a child: Brings back so many memories of my mother when we used to laugh and play together.
My best friend when I was a child: Ron ron. I miss her and am so so so sad I didn't get to see her this summer.
My first day of school: Filled with angst.
My favorite elementary school teacher: Mrs. Hecht.
My least favorite elementary school teacher: Mr. Noblejas.
As a child, I liked to play: With my Barbies.
As a child, I didn’t get along with: Kuya Jompee, such an arrogant little jerk sometimes.
My best Halloween costume: The Witch.
The best Christmas: 1992.
The worst Christmas: 2002.
My favorite books: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Flannery O'Connor's short stories
My favorite foods: Sushi, Thai.
When I was a child, religion: was a family outing.

In elementary school, I was this kind of student: Perfect.
High School Years: LOOOOOOOOVED!
Junior high school was: Awkward.
My favorite junior high teacher was: Ms. Hoglin. Everyone hated her, but I secretly thought that this wig wearing old hag was an awesome teacher.
My least favorite junior high teacher was: That science teacher in SSS - with the short hair - biatch.
My first day of high school was: Exciting.
My favorite subject in high school was: Art, English
My least favorite subject in high school was: Sciences
My favorite high school teacher was: Mrs. Vogt, Mr. Guarino, Mrs. Mac Lean, Mr. Fatovic, Mr. Bogusat, Mrs. Eisner, Mr. Coloumbe, Mr. Barthelme.
My least favorite high school teacher was: Mrs. Pennel, but I like her now.
In high school, I was involved in: The literary art magazine, ERASE (eliminating racism and sexism), Art Honor Society, French Honor Society, National Honor Society, school newspaper, debate team, volleyball, peer tutors
Sports: Volleyball
Music I liked: Alt rock
My extracurricular activities meant this to me: Life!
The person who influenced me most in high school was: Mrs. Vogt
My friends were: always a breath of fresh air.
My best friend was: Fathima
I didn’t get along with: ??
My first date: Sai.
My girlfriends / boyfriends were: Sai.
I had an unrequited crush on: That tall curry guy.
My favorite books then: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, First Love by Joyce Carol Oates
My favorite movies then: not worth mentioning.
My favorite T.V. shows then: Dawson's Creek, Felicity
Religion: Lacking.
A party I enjoyed: My cotillion!
A party I didn’t enjoy: ??
I thought drugs were: not around.
My most embarrassing moment was: Crushing on boys from left and right.
My best memories of high school are: My crush moments, esp. the Valentine's days kiss from Jiggles in the hallway.
My worst memories of high school are: Losing friends because of my drama, my being unable to cope with the hard shit.
When I was a teenager, my sibling: was annoying, didn't get enough love and quality time with me.
I learned to drive when: I tricked my dad by telling him I only wanted a permit.
My first car: A minivan.

The best thing I ever did for my mother: I'm working on it.
The worst thing I ever did to my mother: Assume that she didn't care about me.
The best thing I ever did for my father: Still working on it.
The worst thing I ever did to my father: Assume that he loved me less.
The best thing I ever did for my sibling: Also working on it.
The worst thing I ever did to my sibling: Realize that he's important in my life, and that I wanna be there for him now.
The best thing my mother ever did for me: Ok these questions are much too emotional for me to answer at present and will be saved for another time.
The worst thing my mother ever did to me:
The best thing my father ever did for me:
The worst thing my father ever did for me:
The best thing my sibling(s) ever did for me:
The worst thing my sibling(s) ever did for me:
The best thing anyone ever did for me:
The worst thing anyone ever did to me:
The best thing that ever happened to me:
The worst thing that ever happened to me:
The best day of my life:
The worst day of my life:
The worst decision I ever made:
The best decision I ever made:

College was: Not what I expected.
My friends in college were: Carefully chosen.
In college, I liked: Fat Cats and the bike machine.
I hated: The buses.
I dated: No one - had a boyfriend.
Parties: Past it after freshman year.
Studying: Should've done more of it.
Sports: Swimming!
In college, I was involved in: Residence Life, RAPS (Rutgers Association of Philippine Students), Mosaic, Verbal Mayhem, Sacred Path
I majored in: English, with a concentration in Creative Writing.
I minored in: Women's Studies and Art History.
I earned this degree: Bachelor of Arts
My favorite college professor was: Sonali Perera, David Eng, John McClure, Ray Klimek
My least favorite college professor was: The really really boring lady that taught Greek and Roman Mythology.
The best thing that happened in college was: Realizing my strengths as a leader, writer, artist.
The worst thing that happened in college was: I didn't make the impact I should have made.

I had the following serious romantic relationships as an adult: huh?
I met my spouse / fiance / current love interest: five years ago.
I knew I would marry my spouse / fiance when: I actually don't know if I will marry him.
I knew I was in love with my spouse / fiance / current love interest when: we had our first Valentine's day together, when I felt truly comfortable with and around him.
My friends thought / think my spouse / fiance / current love interest is/ was: uhh, taking up too much of my time.
I proposed / was proposed to in this way: hasn't happened yet.
My bachelor / bachelorette party was:
My wedding was:
The best wedding gift:
The best thing about my spouse / fiance / current love interest:
The worst thing about my spouse / fiance / current love interest:
Parenthood:
My / my spouse’s pregnancy:
The day my child was born:
My child was:
The most important thing I can teach my child:
The best thing I can do for my child:
The best thing about being a parent is:
The worst thing about being a parent is:

I had time on my hands. I hope you actually didn't read through this. And if you did, you deserve a prize. You know that little [x] on the top right part of your screen, click on that.