Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Chapter One - Meet Adelyn Massey

Meet Adelyn Massey...

Traits:
Erratic, Jealous, Bookworm, Quick Learner

Likes:
Romance Music, Fitness, Rocket Science, Mischief, and Modern Decor

Dislikes:
the color yellow

Our random legacy challenge rolls:
Mixed Single, one child +1 adopted, Education career path - Administrative branch.

Current Job Title: Teacher

Current Boyfriend: Dirk Dreamer


Adelyn's History:

Our random legacy challenge begins with Adelyn Massey, a young adult with aspirations to be a both book smart and handy.... she is a Nerd Brain at heart.

Adelyn is a 22 year old young woman who grew up in the "system".  She never met her biological parents and bounced from one foster home to another. As  a small child, she suffered from abuse and neglect in multiple foster homes which has led to anxiety and PTSD.  

She was a curious child and despite the circumstances of her childhood, she fell in love with reading and delved into the world of fantasy as young child. As she got older, her curiousity led her to a love of non-fiction books. The one item she carried with her from foster home to foster home was her library card. 

She was always a straight A student even though she changed foster homes and schools almost yearly.  Learning was what kept her sane... or as sane as she could possibly be given her unfortunate circumstances. Yet, despite all of these issues, she still managed to finish high school and go on to college.  

Her love for reading played a huge roll in her decision to follow an educational career path. She graduated in January and spent the next few months searching for a career job while working part-time gigs here and there.  In the spring, she landed a substitute teaching position. She quickly worked through the ranks and was promoted to teacher's assistant. 

 Adelyn used her life savings to purchase a gorgeous peice of land where she set about building her first home.  She built a nice contemporary style house with three bedrooms and a garage for those handy projects.  Her home is a work in progress, while she was able to get the outside looking pretty stellar, she has yet to finish the inside - she has lots of flooring and painting to do - just what a handy sim enjoys! 

Adelyn dreams of having a huge library in her home someday and her new home has plenty of space for it. She tutors children on the side and is working hard to save up her money to finish her home and build up her home library. Just like all young adults though, life is complicated and she has to deal with many twists and turns.

Boys... oh my....

Adelyn's first day as a substitute teacher took her to the library to tutor a student and grade homework, since she does not yet own a computer, or a desk for that matter. While at the library, in walked, of all things... a celebrity!  None other than Dirk Dreamer, Tech Guru extrordinaire for Rainy Day Entertainment. All the girls were swooning.  Adelyn was nervous as she made introductions and attempted to get an autograph. Dirk totally was taken by her and quickly agreed to sign a photo made out to Adelyn.   

Of course, Adelyn stopped by the local craft store and picked up a frame for her peice of priceless history. While putting the photo in the frame, Adelyn noticed Dirk put his phone number on the back of the photo! So after getting it framed, she anxiously paced back and forth trying to decide if she should call or text. To her surprise, a text led to him calling her!  The photo now hangs in her room right above her night stand. 

They met up another time at the library and enjoyed a game of chess together - Adelyn taught him how to lose gracefully.  Days later, Dirk called for their first date, which Adelyn quickly accepted.  The date did not go well... Adelyn drank a bit too much due to her nervousness and was constantly running back and forth to the bathroom. Despite there issues, he still flirted with her and the next day called for another date where they went to a bon fire and danced half the night away.  That was the night she got her first ever kiss.

When Adelyn got her promotion to assistant teacher, Dirk was there to help her celebrate. They got a little too drunk and one thing led to another... Dirk confessed his love in a drunken stupor and Adelyn ended up pregnant the first time they woohoo'd.  

And baby makes 3...

Adelyn was excited and terrified at the same time... her hormones were going wild and her anxiety and emotions were running so high. Her only experience with "parental figures" was not great.. what did she know about being a parent? Would Dirk help her? Every chance she got, she spent time researching what being a "good" parent meant. Dr. Spock, Mr Rogers, who has the best advice? Nine months of books later, and Adelyn was quickly becoming less anxious and more ready.

Dirk was not quite as excited... he stopped coming by as often. He still called and checked up on Adelyn but it wasn't quite the same.  Will their soul mate feelings return?

The day Alijah was born was a rough day.  Money was tight, the bills came due and Adelyn didn't have the money to pay them. That day was unforgetable... it was the day they shut the power off.  Dirk came by and asked if Adelyn needed anything. She told him about the bills issue and he didn't even offer to help. Before he left though, Adelyn went into labor. At least he took her to the hospital.

That's the day Alijah was born... Dirk didn't even stick around to meet his son. He dropped Adelyn off and poof, disappeared.  That should have been Adelyn's warning sign... there were others but this one was huge.

And then what...

It was pretty clear to Adelyn that she would have to raise Alijah on her own... lucky for her, when she called the school to let them know she would be taking family leave, she learned she had been promoted to Teacher!  What luck!  Just what she needed to hear to help her stay motivated and positive. Studying for another promotion while on family leave should be a peice of cake - newborn babies sleep a lot. 

And that's how she ended up here...in the library. Getting some last minute tutoring sessions in, writing a letter of recommendation for one of her students, and doing some more research on parenting. Adelyn learned one thing growing up in foster homes... the system is there to help, even if it doesn't always help, its the people who use it correctly who benefit the most from it. Subsidized childcare is such a helpful thing!


Alijah Turns One!

The day finaly came when Alijah turned one. It was just Adelyn and Alijah celebrating. Dirk was busy.  Alijah got a few gifts and a new toddler bed.

His favorite gift was the Tiny Tot Treehouse. Adelyn was shocked how big it was but Alijah loved it right away.  

Now that Alijah was bigger it was time to go back to work...the next few months Adelyn will be focusing on raising a toddler, earning simoleons and finishing the home she has built for her little family... she can't count on Dirk.