What's in a Name?

Autumn Rooney

Autumn Rooney- German/Irish ancestry; Autumn Rooney is a well-meaning, but relatively quiet and antisocial young woman who was raised in a conservative environment in Kansas City, Missouri. She is a self-described bookworm who develops a steady relationship with her classmate Liam Quigley during her junior year of high school that extends to her years at UMass Amherst. The daughter of a military reserve, she had a self-effacing demeanor that made her avoid unnecessary attention and often found herself stereotyped as being "serious" and "too plain", preferring to spend her Friday nights studying history or curled up with a good book to doing livelier ventures. Despite her intellect, her silent nature could cause her to be misperceived as aloof, unapproachable, or even arrogant and judgmental by those who did not know her well, as she would always meet unfamiliar faces with a polite restraint. While she has trouble accepting certain things, Autumn was quick to adapt and easily motivated when something piqued her interest. She found it much easier to express herself through written than spoken word, winning the a contest in the sixth grade when she wrote an essay about free college. She spent much of her early childhood years in La Crescenta, California and had an exceptionally close bond with her father, who affectionately called her "Pickle" in reference to his daughter's tendency to be sweet and "sometimes a little sour." They often visited her grandparents in Idaho and celebrated every family gathering they had with sweet and sour pork, which remains one of her favorite dishes. Autumn's relationship with her mother, a stern, confrontational woman who could be hard on others, was often strained however and had a negative impact on her self-esteem. 

She was bright and precocious from a young age and was continuously enrolled in talented and gifted courses throughout her school years. She was a compassionate, if somewhat inexperienced child for the most part who tended to have a few close friends, developing intimate friendships with a small group of girls she considered her "true companions". Among the closest of these girls was her childhood best friend Yolanda Ibarra, a multiracial girl of Panamanian descent with whom she immediately clicked with their similar temperaments and interests in writing. Autumn developed a special fondness for Yolanda due to the support she offered her during a rather dark and difficult time in middle school as she faced teasing from her peers for her appearance and her offbeat mannerisms. Her aunt enrolled in night school, took some business courses, earned her degree, and got a job as secretary for a nursing association, only to later become the assistant manager of the same nursing association she'd worked at for years. It was her childhood dream to one-day publish a best seller with her best friend that rivaled J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books. The two often collected wands with her best friend and jointly had every book in the series, causing them to work on a fantasy story they had planned to write together.  Autumn can be very loud and talkative around those she trusts and tends to go on garrulous rants about something she is passionate about. She is friendlier and more outgoing by then and can charm those around her with her quick wit and dark sense of humor. On the rare occasions in which she and her mother get along, she can be quite warm-hearted and considerate and tends to show her love through acts of service. Yolanda's patience towards her offered her a sense of security while confronting the various changes she was experiencing during adolescence, especially as she found it hard to express herself around her peers.

Autumn is also fairly opinionated and likes to share her ideas with anyone who will listen, as she has a rich and complex inner world. Her prepubescent years would become even more difficult however once Yolanda suddenly moved away after her family was stationed in Ft. Bliss, TX. This led to the two girls gradually growing apart as the frequency of the emails between them lessened and they moved into different friend groups. She transferred middle schools shortly after, as the family hoped to give her a fresh start once she accidentally broke her arm in gym class. Autumn would later move away from La Crescenta to Kansas City shortly after, a drastic move that was incredibly hard for her and made her refer to her new home as "Ft. Hell." She secretly struggled with anxiety and depression and her reticence caused her to be called "Owl" by her peers, including the popular girls at her school. She was afraid of making severe mistakes at times as she knows there can be consequences and would end up apologizing to others even if they had wronged her. Her malleable nature also made her very loyal and helpful, which sometimes turned against her when people abused her kindness and she was forced to obey. Autumn received a rubber stamp on her buttock after being "initiated" by a group of upperclassmen as a prank when she became a member of the newspaper staff. She despises her red hair and longs for smooth ivory skin and golden hair, leading her to accidentally turn her hair green while trying to dye it a different shade. She encountered several malicious comments from some of her male classmates as well, who would refer to her as a "butterface" with an attractive body, but a lack of aesthetically pleasing facial features to look at. She would often be ridiculed for her bright orange hair color, which earned her the nickname "Carrot Top" among many of the students in her grade.