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But something that made me think in willkill's post was the line with "how cool it would be to be a great warrior".
Do you really think it is THAT entertaining to be on war? See your friends die, kill your opponents, get hurt, see slaughtered people lying around, and much more? Maybe you should ask some veterans of World War II or some soldiers in Iraq if they thought that being a warrior was "cool". (I guess you never had to do military service.)
I never want to be on war, be it in Middle-Earth or in real life.
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I really didnt mean to highlight war is one of the advantages of being an elf. Just one cannot really talk about Elves in Tolkien's world without mention of the fighting and battle they had with evil. The great warrior reference was just a reference to the fact that throughout the Silmarillion, almost all of the great deeds are done by Elves, whether it is in battle or in forging the Silmarillions themselves. And as a whole I think of Elves as better warriors (as Hurin/Huor said to Turgon, they can wait around forever waiting for battle while men cannot) and I cant help but envy the glory that Elves going to battle have, whether it is Turgon appearing with 10,000 Elves in shining armor, or Gil-Galad marching into Mordor with a host of Elves and Men.
And as for my view on Elves, as I was introduced into ME through LotR, my view of Elves still is mostly based on the points of view from LotR. In these books Elves are looked at with awe, almost every Elven character in LotR is a great character, wise, strong, fair and that has left a lasting impression on me that when I did find out about the evil deeds the elves had done, and the down side to their way of life, I still cannot think of them in the same light that I think of Men in Tolkein's world.
And though it may just be that immortality seems great to the mortal, I feel as though I would much rather be forced to live forever on a marred Arda than to grow old and die and leave my judgement up to Eru. I dont see myself getting bored of ME, and even if I did, there is always the grey havens...
-willkill