User blog comment:XMCL/Character submission for new season!/@comment-26485526-20171223034145

Name (Age): Jamie Mayfair (19)

Hometown: Dover, DE

Current Occupation: University Student (Music Major)

Background: Born Jonathan Mayfair, Jamie came out as "Non-Binary" just two years ago after they turned 17. Growing up, Jamie always knew that they were different from the other boys, although they couldn't quite put their finger on it. At first, they thought they were transgender, but after reading up more on what being "Non-Binary" meant, they realized that they were best suited to that identity. As a non-binary individual, Jamie prefers being referred to with the pronouns "they" and "them". Jamie is quite forgiving of people that accidentally mis-gender them when they first meet, although they do expect that people would get more courteous over time. The one pronoun that Jamie utterly despises however is "It" as they view that term as being derogatory.

When Jamie came out as non-binary to his parents, although they were accepting of them, they were more confused than anything else, not quite understanding what it meant to be "non-binary." The more their parents were educated about what it meant to be "non-binary," they more supportive they became. Soon after coming out to his parents, they decided that they wanted to be referred to by the name "Jamie" as it is more of a gender-neutral name. Jamie got their name legally changed when they turned 18.

One of Jamie's biggest passions in life is music. They began playing the clarinet when they were 12 years old and soon learned how to play piano, saxophone, oboe, flute, trumpet, guitar, and trombone, all by the time they turned 17. Jamie's marks in music were always top notch, and they were accepted into the New England Conservatory of Music when they were 18, playing the oboe. Unfortunately, this means that they had to move from Dover to Boston and live on residence at the school. However, they have always dreamed of performing music for a living, and they recognize that it is a great school for them to hone their skills.

Jamie wants to play Survivor solely for the million dollars as it would help them pay their way through music school. However, Jamie recognizes that he was lucky to have such a strong support group of family and friends that supported them after they came out as non-binary, a support group that a lot of LGBTTQ* youth don't unfortunately have. Jamie also realized that there is very few, if any, media representation for non-binary youth. So, if they can be that inspiration for non-binary youth, and someone that they could look up to while they fight for a million dollars, that would just be a bonus.

Hobbies: Practicing music, hanging out with friends, jogging, hiking, playing baseball and soccer.

Pet Peeves: I'm a pretty laid back person in my everyday life. Nothing really gets me down too too much. I can even handle being mis-gendered, so as long as it was an honest mistake because the person doesn't know me that well. The one thing that absolutely makes my blood boil though is when people refer to me as "it" after learning that I'm non-binary because it is just such a derogatory and offensive term since it's like the person's referring to me as an object.

3 Words to Describe You: Musical, funny, head-strong

Why You Think You Will Win SURVIVOR: I will win this game because I'm a likable person. I'm funny, outgoing, and people just seem to like being around me for the most part, so I'll be sure to use that to my advantage and build social relationships with everyone. I also play a fair amount of sports, so I'm pretty athletic, and I'm a fan of the show. I'm not going to be afraid to make moves to get myself further, because we really see nowadays that the jury won't give someone to win unless they fight and make moves to actively get themselves to the end. I'm not going to just come in guns blazing, but I will definitely work to make moves from behind the scenes, as well as using my social relationships to get people to trust me enough to include me in their plans. At the end of the day though, I realize that at the end of the day, I need to look out for one person only, and that is myself. So even though it will hurt me to betray people, if I absolutely have to do it, then it will.

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