As someone who regularly plays Dungeons & Dragons, I can definitely understand why someone would want to be an elf. As least as far as that game is concerned, they never need to sleep, they can see in the dark, and they're able to live for hundreds of years.
Much of that is obviously inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but they would be pretty handy qualities to have in real life.
Although one Illinois woman doesn't necessarily claim any of these elf traits for herself, her appreciation goes much deeper than simply wanting to be one.