What's in a Name?

Iesha Carmichael

Iesha Carmichael- Italian/Scottish (mother); Afro-Trinidadian (father); Iesha is an athletic girl who Naomi Nichols meets during her time at Northeastern University, and she participates on the college's basketball and track teams. A self-declared lesbian of mixed black and white ancestry, she wears glasses and appears racially ambiguous, with tightly curled dark brown hair that reaches her upper back and is sometimes tied in a low ponytail, downturned brown eyes, thin lips, and a light brown skin tone. Her face is oval-shaped with a slightly recessed chin, making her appear slightly younger than her actual age, yet she is relatively tall in stature at 5 ft 7 in, with a flat chest and limited curves. She is said to have a remarkable resemblance to her older sister Karaysha, who is 5 years her senior and working as a management analyst in Dallas, with her alma matter being the University of North Texas. Iesha tends to be guarded and reserved in disclosing details about herself when first interacting with people, being somewhat mistrustful and hesitant to open up. This is due to the trauma she has personally experienced in the past due to her homosexuality, but she is sociable and oftentimes friendly with those she meets upon warming up to them. She and Naomi met at the university's queer alliance group once she and her long-time friends and college roommates Bianca and Shelby decided to attend. Their bond was further solidified once they bonded over a group assignment in a freshman-level sociology course the two were taking together as a basic elective. Iesha tended to dress androgynously from a young age and has always had a notable preference for wearing men's clothing, a fact Naomi noted when shopping with her one-on-one at the mall. She can also have a strong one-track mind and hidden motivation to pursue her ambitions and describes herself as a "Chapstick lesbian", with an androgynous, masculine energy about her.

Her favorite drink is lemonade, and she also likes pesto pizza, banana bread, chocolate fondue, and her grandma's homemade rigatoni. She is best friends with a quirky Chinese-Jamaican girl named Pandora Liu and a young queer African American boy named Desmond King. Iesha is open-minded and relatively insightful when advising others due to the self-knowledge she has gained from her own experiences. She is seen as being nice and empathetic and having a comforting personality, as she is often referred to as a "cool big sis" by her younger cousin Jacqueline. She is described by others as honest, kind and fair and considered the type of person not to lie, steal or cheat. Her family moved from Amarillo, Texas to Virginia during her 7th grade year upon her father's promotion to head personnel at George Mason University, bringing her closer to her aunt and cousins despite the changes that the drastic move to a different state brought about. Although she is usually a pacific person, Iesha also has her limits and can appear irritable when she is pushed too far, as she has shown excellent demonstrations of good judgment with the law and acute suspicions of law-breaking. People are drawn to her rational demeanor and willingness to be true to herself, although she often doesn't hold her tongue and ends up saying mean things without intending to. She likewise very caring and compassionate, as well as self-righteous, and often seeks justice for those whom have been wronged or persecuted. She strongly believes in promoting equality for all and demanding that she and others be treated with the respect they deserve, and she is seen a a natural leader and communicator. While Iesha was not always popular within her social circles growing up, she is known for having a small, steady group of friends whom she considers her true companions. 

She also cherishes quality time spent with her family and as a middle child, has a good relationship with her parents, whom she often regards as "two of her best friends." Despite having had past romantic encounters with different boys throughout her high school and college years, she had yet to have ever had a serious relationship and at the age of 23 and had not experienced a sexual encounter with a girl, with her longest and presumably only relationship to date having lasted a mere two months. She yearns to find true love, but tends to go with the flow and has an easygoing approach when it comes to romance, claiming "everything will fall in place at the right time." Iesha shared a bunk with another 5th grade girl and was best friends with her, and she has a side to her that is very soft and physically affectionate. She shows no shame in using puppy eyes in order to get what she wants and is shown to ride on carts in the grocery store and wrecks several aisles. She is positive and likes to support her siblings, making them laugh and feel better, and she becomes her friend's inspiration for pursuing a life in the showbiz industry. She has on numerous occasions shown herself capable of acting serious and responsible however if the situation warrants. Iesha is similarly a friendly, intelligent and resourceful girl who is always shown intently researching various subjects and taking notes. She has previously worked as a cashier at Hobby Lobby and the UPS store, during which she befriended a girl named Ursula. She is curious and takes interest in different matters, being the one who advocated for Puerto Rico's becoming the official 51st state of the US. She is also intuitive, as she is seen reusing her school outfit to craft new wear and using her skills in biology to perform little "autopsies" on small, dead animals that she finds.