Post by ennis on Aug 24, 2011 21:28:51 GMT -6
ENNIS JANE MACDONALD
FULL NAME: Ennis Jane MacDonald
BIRTHDATE: April 3, 1985
AGE: 25
SUBJECT: Spanish
YEARS TEACHING: 1
YEARS AT BLACKWOOD: None, has only been here about 6 months.
HEALTH CONDITIONS: Needs hormone treatments to keep her levels normal, and supplements for vitamins and nutrients that she doesn't retain well naturally.
ADDITIONAL: She has a younger brother, Duncan, who is a junior and a student at B.A.D. She prefers to go by E.J., which is a nickname her uncle gave her when she was a toddler, and what she's been called almost all her life. E.J. speaks several languages, including Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Arabic, and Portuguese. Languages are her main skill, as she's tone deaf, has no artistic talent, and can burn water. She relies on her skills as an interpreter and linguist to get her by, as she really has nothing else to go on. Before coming to B.A.D., she spent a year in Europe, teaching underprivileged kids. Despite her inability to cook, she's not fond of meat and processed foods, and is mostly a vegetarian. If she has the option of a vegetarian dish, she'll take it. She has four tattoos. The first one is on her left hip, and she got it when she was eighteen; it's an outline of the Western Hemisphere. The second tattoo she got when she was drunk, at 20 years old, in college. She and her roommate were getting tattoos together, hers was meant to be the outline of Eurasia, and her roommate was going to get a cupcake, as she was a culinary student. Being drunk, they ended up getting the wrong tattoos, so she has a cupcake on her right shoulder blade. The third tattoo was the planned Eurasia tattoo, on her right hip this time. And the final tattoo was the most recent, and it's a list of the towns she taught in while in Europe, going down her back.
“Why did you decide to go into teaching?”
Frowning a bit, she bit her lip as she thought about her answer. "Well, I guess it was just how I grew up. When I was a kid, I grew up surrounded by younger kids. Cousins, siblings, neighbors... It was a small town. Everyone knew everyone. And, well, I guess somewhere along the way I got used to teaching the younger kids things I knew and they didn't. I loved it. And so I guess I just wanted to do that as a career. You know?"
“What can you offer the school?”
Brightening up, a grin covered her face. "Well, how many potential teachers do you have apply that speak seven languages? That is including English, but excluding it, I speak six different languages. Spanish was the second language I learned, followed by French, and then German. I was speaking those three by the end of high school... I really have to thank my step mother and Uncle for that. My step mother speaks French, German, and Spanish fluently, and my Uncle speaks French fluently. They taught me as I was growing up, and then when I was in college, I studied Dutch, Arabic, and Portuguese as well. I can't imagine you get many people applying here who can say that, right?"
“Why do you want to work with troubled youth?”
The grin shrunk to a small, fond smile, and she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Before I came back to the states, I spent a year travelling and teaching underprivileged students in Eastern Europe. It was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. I've never felt so useful. And then I got a call that my brother, Duncan, had been sent here. As much as I hated to do it, I had to leave my work there, and I came here. I needed to take care of my brother. Lucky for me, though, I still get to help kids. Just in a different place, I guess."
“How long have you been teaching? What subjects have you taught? Where was the last place you taught?”
"I've only been teaching for a year. I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but I did gain a lot of experience. I taught English, as well as basic mathematics. We weren't exactly a formal school, more of a group of children gathering in an old house that had been designated as the school building. I taught that way at a few places, little towns in little countries. It may not have been with teenagers, or a conventional work experience, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It changed my life."
“How do you project yourself to students? How do you think your coworkers will see you? How do you see yourself?”
Humming, she scowled a bit as she thought. "I don't know. I guess I try to be not just a friend, but a mentor as well. I like teaching, and I like my students. I want them to like me. And I'm not much older than them, you know? I guess that I'll be able to relate to them, and what they enjoy a bit better than the other teacher might. I'm still young, and I kinda act like it. So, I guess I don't know how I'll get along with coworkers. I mean, I hope they like me. I like it when people like me. I'm not quite sure what you mean 'how do you see yourself'? I mean, I like myself. I'm not perfect, but... I dunno. I guess that I can be a bit of a pacifist. I'm not as wild as I used to be. My rebellious phase has ended, you know?"
“What is the worst decision you have made during your teaching career?”
"That's actually pretty easy. I really think that if I had stayed in Europe, I could have done a lot more good. And I came back to the states instead. My career isn't very long, so I can't say I've made a lot of mistakes. But... I have to say that I consider that to be my biggest mistake so far."
“Tell me a little about your life before coming to B.A.D.”
Laughing, she shook her head. "There is no 'little' when it comes to my life. I was born and raised in Texas. And everything there is bigger. I guess the best place to start is my family. My mother was a girl from the small town I grew up in. She was one of the many girls my dad dated through high school, and the only one he knocked up. They got married, and that lasted for about three years, before she got tired of it. She never wanted a domestic life, and so she left. Divorced my dad, and ignored my very existence. My dad went into the family business right after graduating- horse breeding. My grandfather passed it on to him, right before he died. I was six. My father was only twenty four, and a single father and owner of a top race horse breeding farm. The whole family lived on the farm. My family is pretty big, you know? I've got my Uncle Keenan, and his wife Chandra. They've got two kids, my cousin Jimmy, who is two years older than I am, and my cousin Alyssa, who is nineteen and in her freshman year in college. Then my Aunt Rose, and her husband, my Uncle Frederic, have a total of twelve kids. Crazy, right? The oldest of them is Evangeline and Finian, better known as Eva and Fin. They're fraternal twins, and about six months younger than I am. Then it's Brianna, Benji, Natalie, Lillian, Jean, Philippe, Evelyn, Angelo, Brooke, and Xavier. Xavier is the youngest, at five years old."
Taking a breath, she laughed a bit again. "And that's not even getting into my siblings, or the family history drama. You see, I've got another uncle. Uncle Atticus. Aunt Chandra was originally his fiance, but when he brought her home to meet the family, she and Uncle Keenan fell in love. It made a huge rift in the family. Uncle Atticus went back to sea, and rarely came home. And when he did, he drank all the time. Even now, he avoids home, and drinks more than is healthy. We're all pretty much just waiting for the call from the doctors that his liver has failed. We love him, but... He's a stubborn man. We're all used to knowing it. Anyway... When I was nine, my half-brother, Duncan, came to live with us. He was a year old, and his mother was dying. She had cancer, and they hadn't caught it soon enough. She and my dad had actually been really close. Not so much in love, as old friends. It was hard on him, her death. But having Duncan and I helped him through it. And then, when Duncan was three, and I was eleven, he met my step mother. I actually considered her to be my mother. Her name is Molly, and she is the most wonderful woman I know."
"Now to my siblings. There is Duncan, obviously. He's a student here, and is seventeen years old. Then there's Angus, Flora, Alasdair, Greer, Bowie, Ewan, and Iona. There are nine of us total, and the youngest of us is Iona. She's only three. We've got a lot of an age difference, I know. But I love her. And all the rest of my siblings, of course. We're a close family, even if we're not always close physically. I usually call Molly Mom, actually. She has been more of a mother to me than mine ever has. She's the one who taught me Spanish, French, and German. I owe her a lot. She's been the biggest support in my life, excluding my dad. And, well, Abel. I haven't even mentioned him, have I?"
Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. "Abel Daniels was my first love. My best friend from the day I was born. He lived on the farm right next door, and was my rock throughout my whole life. Our father's were best friends. Our mother's got along well, and spent a lot of time together while they were pregnant. They even roomed together at the hospital when they had us. It was pretty awesome, having someone there your whole life. We did everything together. He really kept an eye on me, you know? I was kind of a bad kid. Constantly making mischief, you know? I was the girl who constantly got into little street brawls with the other boys in town. It was my idea to start a betting pool on it one summer. I was undefeated, mostly because no one wanted to hit a girl, much less me. Everyone knew that if you hurt me, you'd have to deal with Jimmy, Abel, and Fin, three of the scrappiest boys around. What we lacked in skill we made up in sheer viciousness. Is that a word? Whatever. Anyway. When I was fourteen, I realized I had a bit of a crush on him. And then, when we were fifteen, we secretly started dating. It was really cute, you know? He carried my books for me, and... he was a gentleman. We still did all the things we normally did. Camping trips in the woods behind our houses, skinny dipping in the lake in the woods.. All that had changed was that we admitted that we had feelings for each other. Besides the odd kiss now and then, we didn't try anything. I'd been scared with tales of teen pregnancy by my dad for as long as I could remember. I didn't want to end up like him and my mom. But... The night of our senior prom... We finally made love. It was the best night of my life. And he proposed. He wanted to get married, and move to the city. I was going to be a writer... I'd already started working on a manuscript for a romance novel. And he was going to be a fireman, or a policeman. He had this whole life planned out..."
Sighing, she shook her head. "I turned him down. I told him that I loved him, but... I wanted to go to college. I'd been accepted to the university I wanted. I was going to be a teacher. It was what I wanted. Yes, I loved writing, but... I love teaching too. I told him that I wanted to wait, and that I thought we should give it time. He was hurt. I can't blame him. But... He broke up with me. After graduation, he joined the army. I tried talking to him. I tried convincing him that I still had feelings for him. He didn't listen, though. And so, off he went. I told him that if he ever wanted to speak to me again, to just have his father deliver the message, and I'd be happy to talk to him. He hasn't though. I don't even know if he's alive anymore." Running a hand through her hair, she shook her head. "Anyway. That's all ancient history. The big stuff has happened recently. I did go to that university I'd been so excited to go to. I worked hard, got my degree. Made friends, and I got over Abel. Dated a few guys, nothing serious. At one point, the highlight of my love life was being groped by a stoned guy in the same week that I'd flirted with the cute cashier at the grocery store. While buying chocolate, wine, and tampons. I was rather pathetic at that point in time. Not something I like remembering. Moving on? After graduation, I wasn't feeling quite ready to settle down. I wanted adventure. So, as a graduation gift, my father paid for me to go backpacking through Europe. I taught in some small, provincial towns, where they didn't even have school buildings. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I learned so much about myself. And... Then I found out Duncan had been sent here. I finished up what I was doing, making sure the town I'd been in would be okay without me. And now I'm here. To take care of my little brother. I've only been doing it for sixteen years now, you know?"
ALIAS: Emily
HOW DID YOU FIND US? Henry, Bianca, Frank and Tom are mine too!
CODE WORD: ADMIN EDIT
PLAY-BY: Cintia Dicker
