Who am I? Maria. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

Who is Maria? Some people call her a poet, some a painter, a philosopher, an intellectual, a nut. They don't seem to agree on a clear definition, neither do I, the questionable object of the definition itself.

So I can only give you some relatively objective, quantifiable data. I studied five languages, public relations, social and educational sciences (all with "summa cum laude").

I was what they call a gifted child. My father spoke Latin and Greek with me when I was just a little girl. We also did square roots together. Have you seen the movie "Parenthood"? Well, I identify a lot with that innocent little girl.

I started to join High-IQ Societies only two years ago though and am now a member of 29 (30 with Hypatia).

I've founded a High-IQ Society myself, Ingenia, with three other girls.

I have some great passions: poetry (I've written about 800 pages, but I have collected only 122 in a book called "Entropy", I've also won competitions); painting as well as creating landscapes with Terragen (a new passion discovered a few days ago); and puzzles (I've written a book significantly called "Genius and Insanity").  I identify a lot with Sylvia Plath.

Apart from my passions, my hobbies are philosophy, astronomy and classical music. I wish I had studied music. Sometimes I sort of hear a melody in my head and don't know how to write it down. So I paint or write a poem.

Well, I think that's all, at least for now. Oh yes, I live in Australia, in case you wondered where I come from.