So. These "About Me" sections. Every time I see one, I get a vague sense of dread. Because, really, what am I supposed to say here? How should I portray myself effectively to others in the space of a few sentences? How do I make myself look decent without coming across as pretentious?

Honestly, I don't know. Maybe you do. But not me. So I'll give some basic information and leave it at that:
I'm Claire. I live in the grey, corrupt metropolis of Chicago and will be 18 in about two weeks' time. I'm an existentialist atheist who embraces agnostic ideas about uncertainty. I'm really worried about getting into a decent college. I enjoy reading, and practicing German is my favorite thing to do, more or less. I'm not incredibly successful in the social department.

Philosophy, the German language, doodling, reading, the ultimate quest of finding foods like D

I like a variety of music and too many bands and songs to count. My favorites change by the day. I'll list some new and old/recurring favorite bands/artists here:
Depeche Mode, Zeraphine, The Smiths, Unheilig, The Cure, Wir Sind Helden, The Cr

Howl's Moving Castle, Mean Girls, Donnie Darko, 500 Days of Summer, The Notebook, Anastasia, Dirty Dancing, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, etc.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed (early seasons), Avatar: The Last Airbender, Glee, Gilmore Girls, Untold Stories of the E.R., True Blood

Jane Eyre, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Pictures of Hollis Woods, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Ella Enchanted, Harry Potter Series, Princess Diaries Series, Animal Farm, Brave New World, Great Expectations, Death Comes for the Archbishop, To Kill A Mockingbird, Frankenstein, etc.

"A neurotic is a man who builds a castle in the air. A psychotic is the man who lives in it. A psychiatrist is the man who collects the rent."
-Jerome Lawrence

"...and neither of them ever
said what they meant
and i guess nobody ever does"
-Nikki Giovanni, "Legacies"

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."
-The Buddha

"Every generalization is dangerous, especially this one."
-Mark Twain

"We could have a life, us two. Maybe not like I dreamed. Maybe not like you remember. But we could get by."
-Mrs. Lovett (in Sweeney Todd)