Blossom-Mae-Starshine Bennett

[Poptart†]

Name: Blossom-Mae-Starshine Bennett
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Southridge
Hobbies and Interests: PETA, art, theatre, peace studies, film, activism, stitching, knitting/crocheting, ecology, clothes design, etc.

Appearance: Born of a fair amount of Native American blood, her genetics gave her rich chocolate skin-- smooth and creamy-- her hair long, remaining forever uncut and silky black, usually teased into messy locks pulled up to the back of her head in cascading heavy dark clumps. Of average height and slender in form, her body is slightly toned from long hikes and her cheeks, though darker in completion, as speckled with a light spray of freckles. Kisses from the sun. Broad native nose and high graceful cheekbones, it is her eyes and her slightly paled complexion (comparatively anyway) that speak of her father's English ancestry. Her eyes are an unusual blue brown, usually unnoticeable but there.

Apart from her natural physical attributes, she clothes herself in cotton skirts and tank tops, she alters clothes form the Salvation Army and other thrift shops to suit her purposes with beads, feathers and bits of unusual cloth to give her the very earth-bound look she desires. Other times she might be seen wearing the traditional clothing of her Native people; sometimes altered, other times not. Many of her clothes are hand-made sitting cross legged on the mattress on the floor of her room that serves as her bed.

Biography: Her mother, full-blood Native American, was born of the Kumeyaay in the Southern Californian reserve of San Pasqual and was removed when tampering corrupt state officials convinced her two elderly parents-- Blossom's mother, Adsila (after which Blossom-Mae-Starshine was named; the name Adsila means "Blossom"), the youngest of nine, and one of only two surviving children-- that the girl would have a better chance for survival outside of the reservation. That's not the whole of the truth, and they were very misleading and cohesive in their discussions with the ill pair.

So, at the age of ten Adsila was removed from her family and placed into a foster home further into California where she went to school and was raised as a white girl, despite the ridicule she got.

Adsila, renamed 'Mary', holding onto her culture, met the young Matthew Bennett in the 70's at a peace spirit rally and they married only three weeks later and they gave birth to three other children (Raven-Waterfall, female, Spirit-Wings, male, Cherry-Blossom, female) until Blossom-Mae-Starshine was born. Blossom's later had their last child, a mirical baby, when Blossom was 15. His name was Awan-Hakan, meaning "Somebody of Fire".

Blossom and her siblings were raised far removed from the normal ideas of society and culture. How to live and what to think of the world.
They were all home schooled, and taught many things considered preposterous by the state and by others. But it seemed necessary to Adsila (who changed her name back from Mary) and Matthew to teach their children all of the culture of their Native side. Not all of their schooling was so 'wishy washy'. In fact, their learning was quite rigorous and complete until Blossom felt that she had learned so much from her parents that she needed to see what she could be offered in public school. And her parents did not discourage her. They had raised their children to be independent, to think for themselves and the question everything.

And so, for the first time ever in her freshman year of high school, she stepped foot in a public school as a student enrolled there (she'd often been in for school activities that she had been involved in-- namely the theatre).

She already had friends, since she had done so much theatre in previous years with these kids, but she was taunted for many things; namely her mother's history, her hippie lifestyle and the fact that she had been home schooled.

Foolish things to be picked on for, but she was.

In her freshman year, not long after getting into the public school system and being confronted with these things with the other peaceful spirits she clung to, she took up smoking pot, few months following, having dug herself deep into a group of people that she thought were respectable, she was introduced to alcohol, and not more than a year and a half after that (the beginning of her Junior year) she added cocaine, acid, ecstasy, and heroine to her repertoire.

Her parents were unaware, and neither was anyone else. They all knew she drank, they all know she smoked pot, but noone was aware of the deep onset of periodic depression that had made her succumb easily to the other drugs.

She spoke out strongly for peace, she is a vegan, a PETA activist, a Wiccan, film-maker, is very eco-friendly and loved to sport "Save-The-Wales" tee-s. But while she did this she did drugs and she willed herself to die...

Senior year is looking up greatly for her.

Her depression has waned and she has cut down on the substance in-take, she's been accepted into a leading fine arts college; The Art Institute of California in San Fransisco with a major in Digital Filmmaking & Video Production and a minor in Fashion Design. However, she is still in danger of inadvertently killing herself through her still excessive dependency on drugs.

Oh, and she has also developed a forbidden crush on the gay boy in the Drama Club. Ooops.

Advantages: She grew up with a healthy respect and a strong understanding for the earth itself, so should she be in any sort of wilderness she will be in her prime. Her dark skin also hides her well and she has learned skills that her mother taught her from what she remembered of life on the Reservation.

Disadvantages: Her drug dependency would cause her some health issues in such things as withdrawal symptoms and the damage already done to her body from the prolonged use of certain drugs. Besides this, her previous depression coupled with her naturally peace-loving attitude will make survival itself difficult.