PROUST SPOTLIGHT

The Proust Spotlight is our monthly feature where we highlight one of the many creative residents of Second Life®. Utilizing the Proust Questionnaire, whose namesake comes from the late 19th century French writer, we will offer a glimpse into what makes them tick.

The blogger we feature this month is the talented Maria (Mrs Sassypants). She shares, ”In Second Life, I’m 14 years young. In RL I’m teetering on the 40 side of 50. I like to think that Maria is just a pixelated expression of myself and whilst we don’t really look alike - I do like to keep myself ‘real’ here. What you see is what you get. I enjoy spending my time in SL with my small circle of loved ones and in RL i love spending time with my family. I have a lifelong passion for creativity in most forms hence why i love being a blogger in SL. ”

The Proust Spotlight

How would you like to die?

In my sleep, unaware. It’s not that I’m scared of dying because I’m not. It’s an eventuality but it’s also something that I’d rather not ‘experience’; ie pain, torment. It might be a little selfish of me in the respect it wouldn’t give my family or friends time to say goodbye but is there ever any good time for that ?

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Giving birth to my children, watching them grow up into amazing adults who now have children of their own and watching them do as I did. My children are the best thing that ever happened to me, EVER and they make me feel incredibly proud of them and myself.

What do you most value in your friends?

Honesty and the ability to trust implicitly. It’s something, along with clarity, that I value greatly not only in my friends but in all of my relationships. I have friends who know much about my RL in SL and vice versa though the RL friends think I’m just an old nerdy woman (and they’d probably be right, too) I’d value a friend more who could tell me if I was wrong or out of order than one who agreed with everything that i did regardless. I would also respect more a friend who could be honest to my face than one who talked behind my back.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Online ? ‘LOL’ - I am a self-confessed lolaholic and I use it in most sentences that I type. If I’m ‘lol-ing’ the chances are that I’m not actually laughing but I AM probably smiling, unless it’s a sarcastic LOL then trust me, I’m neither laughing or smiling (lol)(ok, i lol’d there) Offline then it’s probably ‘Honestly’ or ‘absolutely’

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Prudence (care and moderation with money) because if you practice Temperance (the moderation of needed things and abstinence of things that are not needed) then it should cancel out the need to be prudent ergo, it being an overrated virtue.

What is your most marked characteristic?

Optimistic and positive. Even when things are totally on the floor or up in the air, I will always try and look for a positive to come from a negative. Having been in a place where I’ve been ‘rock bottom’ and in a sink or swim situation, I know from my own experience that there is only one way and that is onwards and upwards. For someone reading this who might disagree or feel that hard to believe right now - until you’ve been there, you don’t know. Nowadays the glass is always half full. I’m very grateful for the life i have and I know there is always someone who will be worse off than I am.