River Patel

Played by Shadow

Name: River Patel

Age: 21

Gender and pronouns: Female, she/her

Appearance: Average-ish height [Asian] Indian / White mixed woman, with a plump figure and dark brown hair and eyes.

Personality: She's a cocky, mischeivous shit who loves her friends and doesn't care about most rules, especially if she disagrees with them.

She is smart and can be rebellious. She is also true to herself and her beliefs.

Sometimeses she feels hopeless, like the world is against her and there is no point in trying, but she tries not to stay down for long. She knows the world won't stop for her, and that she has literally no choice but to keep going, so she always picks herself back up. At least, she tries to. She likes school more than most people, and she loves to get hands-on and learn new things.

She cares deeply for her friends. She has a hard time holding grudges toward people she is close to.

Occupation: Student, majoring in... I'm contemplating what exactly. She also works a student job on campus.

Edit: I think she's planning on becoming a forensic scientist. Need to double check.

History: She was raised with one parent who was very put a lot of pressure on her to do her best and didn't always her or her decisions. They tried to understand, but often failed miserably. They were very traditional and focused on making her succeed, but also very caring. Her other parent was very kind and nurturing, and willing to stick up for her if it was ever needed. They were a lot more lenient with rules and grades, though still strict to some extent.

Her parents respected each other and made things work, so River grew up in a pretty stable household, even if her parents didn't always see eye-to-eye.

On one parent's side, River has a Granny (grandma or great grandma, I'm not sure) who was the stereotypical sweet, Southern granny who always had snacks and warm hug

River likes school now, but she didn't always. High school was full of nothing but lectures and assholes who tried to mess with her, and she made the grade but was never really very engaged with the lessons. It was also really stressful being half first generation immigrant and having the pressure to succeed.

For a while, she was really uncomfortable in her own skin and at school, but she thankfully found her place at college, which she really enjoys. She's still self-conscious, but it's not as bad when she's around supportive friends, and she found something she was passionate about.

She went to a small school in the Southern US. She has a Southern accent because of it. The school also played a big factor in her losing part of her culture; when she was little, she tried to avoid learning any Hindi because teachers and students didn't like her speaking it. She confirmed to what they ate because she got harassed if her lunch had any smell, or her hair, or anything else. For a while, she tried to act white to fit in.

She regretted it when she got older and couldn't speak Hindi like her Indian parent and their side of the family, or when she was averse to the taste of Indian food during holidays with that side of the family. There was a lot of cultural confusion as she aged and didn't fit with the white kids, nor the Indian kids in her own family. When she was the only kid who couldn't speak Hindi.

Other: I wonder if she and Owen might bond over being rebellious teenagers.