User blog comment:XMCL/Character submission for new season!/@comment-26485526-20171227021921

Name (Age): Shaun Jakeman (23)

Hometown: Katy, TX

Current Occupation: Nursing Student

Background: Shaun's life was one big roller coaster of emotion from the time he was a child. While he was always loud, outgoing, and flamboyant on the outside, on the inside he was very insecure about himself, especially because he has dealt with a lot of bullying throughout his time in school. He remembers his mother giving him the advice to "not let the bully know they're bothering you." As such, he always pretended to laugh things off around bullies and not give them a reaction, but there were nights he'd still come home, fall onto his bed, and cry due to some of the hurtful things said to him.

Although Shaun is 100% straight, due to his flamboyant style, and outgoing personality, bullies would often call Shaun things like "gay," "f*g," "f****t," and "q***r," to the point where he questioned his own sexuality. This was only made worse for him as he grew up in a Presbyterian family where half his family is homophobic, and the other half are only silent supporters of LGBT rights. In fact, Shaun didn't get his first girlfriend until he was 19-years-old. However, Shaun even admits that he didn't even like the girl he asked out all that much and that he only did it because his own father asked if he was gay, and Shaun wanted to erase any suspicion within his family. As such, Shaun's first real relationship ended after only 3 months. Right around this time, a toxic sibling rivalry between two of Shaun's uncles reached a boiling point, and now his uncle Steven is on death row for murdering his uncle Darrell.

Shaun is a very caring person and has a huge passion for helping others. Although he's going to school in order to become a nurse right now, he is considering continuing his education and becoming a doctor after receiving his nursing degree. Having suffered through depression, and still dealing with anxiety, Shaun wants everyone around him to be happy and goes out of his way to be kind to everyone he meets, knowing from experience that even if someone's smiling, they could still be very sad on the inside. Shaun is currently dating his 2nd girlfriend, Ashley, who he loves with all his heart and will do anything for her, although he always fears that he's not good enough for her. Shaun still goes to church and has fairly conservative views, although he is a supporter of LGBT rights himself. Shaun is on Survivor because wants to win the money in order to help pay for his education and also so he and Ashley can finally move in together.

Hobbies: Going to the gym, meeting new people, dying and styling my hair, going to church, spending time with my girlfriend, playing baseball, bowling, playing pool.

Pet Peeves: Bullies in general. I was bullied horrifically while I was in middle school and high school, so I know how much words can hurt. Bigots also piss me off because I just don't understand why we can't just all respect each others' views and lifestyles

3 Words to Describe You: Sympathetic, athletic, stylish.

Why You Think You Will Win SURVIVOR: I will win Survivor because I am more determined than anyone to win the money! I hope people see me as a very likable person and that I'll be able to get into alliances fairly easily. I will work my butt off around camp as well as in the challenges. I consider myself to be a very loyal person, and I will play as honest and loyal of a game as I possibly can. I know there may come a point where I have to betray people, and as much as it would really hurt me to do it, if I absolutely need to turn my back on an ally so I can make it to the end, that's what I'll do. If I do get to the end, I think the jury would give me the money because they see how hard I fought as well as the fact I tried to build genuine relationships with them.

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