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hailing from charleston, south carolina, maelynn mckennon was born into the definition of a dysfunctional family. with a father that ran off with the neighborhood gas station attendant and a mother that cared more about the welfare of a bottle than her children, she grew up feeling like the subject of a bad country song. after using her aunt and uncle's home as a refuge for the better part of a decade, she saw college as a chance to get out while she still could and booked it to the pacific northwest without thinking twice. she chose to stay in touch with her family but with the exception of her mother - though that didn't stop the woman from leaving slurred messages on her voicemail every few months. the end of her college career didn't signal her cross country return "home"; instead, she decided that it was in her best interest to continue the life that she begun by herself, away from any negativity that her mother could cast off onto her.

today, mae shares her space with a roommate, pippa, three dogs, belle, memphis, and __, and a cat named baron. when she isn't working, her time is devoted to yelling at teenagers until her throat is raw and running laps with them until she can't breathe aka coaching a local competition cheer team. a product of her rough beginning, she's responsible even when she doesn't feel like being an adult but also feels like she missed out on being an irresponsible teenager. she can mother hen with the best of them but also gets incredibly frustrated with people that choose to throw their lives away or make others miserable for their own entertainment.

mae is more afraid of becoming her mother than she'd ever let on. because of this, she sets almost impossibly high standards for herself and then typically becomes frustrated because she can't meet them. if she were to be completely honest about what she really wants to live her life, her answer would simply be "not alone and with a cirrhosis-free liver."

shamelessly indulges in country music. after spending eighteen years in south carolina, she doubts that she could escape her roots if she tried. fried foods are still a staple of her diet for the same reason and while she eats a bit healthier, she just can't see herself ever cutting all of her childhood favorites out of her life. every once in a while she still feels like crying when she thinks about how much she misses cheerwine.

isn't ashamed of her 5'2" frame at all and firmly embraces her small stature... except when she really needs to reach something that's on a top shelf. never ask her how she feels about it then.

for obvious reasons, mae hasn't spoken directly to her mother since before she left for college. not one to be deterred, her mother still occasionally leaves her drunk voicemail messages or convinces the rest of her family to pass information along. in all honesty, mae sees her as a mother in name only given that she hasn't acted like one in the better part of two decades.

forced to sing in church until the day her grandmother passed on, expressing herself vocally has never been a difficult task. these days she's more katy perry than "amazing grace" but catching her singing in the shower or belting along to the radio isn't a sporadic occurrence.

a typical gemini, she loves to learn and sees nothing wrong with learning as much as she can about any topics that happen to catch her interest. it's no wonder that people in her dorm used to flip a coin to see who got her for their trivia team. on the flip side, she knows what she wants but has a difficult time deciding how to get it. she can give crystal clear, direct advice to others but is fairly indecisive when it comes to her own life. the gemini duality is not lost on her in the least.

+ 90's anime, bonfires, building snowmen, civil war history, food comas, fried pickles, fuzzy slippers, lame puns, saturday night live reruns

≠ alcoholics, applesauce, feet, going to the doctor, people that use "i can't" as an excuse when they're just being lazy

first middle and last name maelynn elizabeth mckennon but for the love of god, please don't ever full name me. it's just mae these days. plain and simple.
birthdate and age june 6th and i'll be turning twenty-four this year. cue the confetti and party horns.
occupation i'm a youth counselor at a foster care facility specializing in those suffering from substance abuse issues or those who have suffered because of family members with the same problems. i want to show kids that they don't have to be a product of their upbringing and continue a vicious cycle.
who does your family consist of? how many siblings do you have? my family consists of my aunt mel and uncle kevin, my younger sister, and a few cousins.
what kind of pets do you have? i have three dogs, belle, memphis, and ___, and a grouchy, entitled cat named baron.
which hawthorn neighborhood do you live in? i live in hawthorn square with my bestest!
do you live alone? besides the aforementioned roomies with four legs, i also live with a disgusting texas a&m fan named pippa. she's alright, i guess.
what is your idea of perfect happiness? i've never really thought about but i guess it would be living with no worries. can you hear me singing "hakuna matata" right now? it's totally happening. i don't know, i just feel like a life without stupid things to stress about would complete me.

what is your relationship like with your parents? if you don't have one, explain. talk about a "yowza" question. i have zero pieces of a relationship with my dad - nada, zero, zilch. my relationship with my mom (if your really want to call her that) is estranged at best. i don't speak to her and i really don't enjoy it when she tries to speak to me. thank goodness she's still back on the east coast and i don't have to deal with her face-to-face.
what does your ideal weekend or day off look like? a nice run or hike with the dogs, a day trip out to the san juan islands with some whale watching, good food and good friends. i'm pretty easy to please. if it's relaxing then it's ideal.
what do you regret most about your time in high school? does being in high school in general count? honestly, i was so caught up in my own head most of the time that i didn't care about what was happening unless it was class-related or team-related. oh and being shorter than everyone else but some things are never going to change.
what word or words do you overuse the most? "yikes," "darn," "like" and when i'm nervous "um" comes out to play a lot. and when i say a lot, it's not an exaggeration.
what fictional character do you most relate to and why? robin scherbatsky because we're both stubborn and have issues communicating appropriately.
how would you like to die? what kind of question is this? i'm not going to die - i'm just going to ascend to a heaven-like space and reign as the unicorn queen. stop raining on my parade.

maelynnmckennon