From a young age there were a hefty amount of expectations placed upon the youngest of the Stirling clan. Born March 4, 1990 to high school sweethearts, John and Sabrina, Nadine Amelia Stirling immediately became the pet project of her parents. The young family was comfortable and provided well for their children, and a happy homelife flourished at the Stirling residence. John and Sabrina had successfully escaped the curse so often believed to be on teenage marriages. But as picture perfect as their family appeared from the outside, it took a great deal of effort to maintain.

While John looked on approvingly, Sabrina molded their youngest into the envy of the neighborhood. Vocal lessons were provided free of charge by a family friend, horseback riding lessons came at a deep discount through a connection her father knew through work, and the task of priming Nadine as a pageant princess was one endeavored upon every weekend by Sabrina and all of her closest (and childless) friends. From birth she had become a living doll.

Nadine longed for the freedom her older brother enjoyed, though she did so quietly as long ago she had accepted the fact that being the youngest came with the unfortunate reality of being doted on and controlled. Pushed just as hard in academics as in extracurriculars, average grades were unacceptable and failing grades were unfathomable. Ever afraid to disappoint her parents, Nadine ran the academic gauntlet without complaint. She graduated at the top of her class – a shining example of the product of good parenting, or so John and Sabrina considered her.

With college looming, Nadine watched on enviously as her brother pursued what made him truly happy, without a mind for what their parents thought one way or the other. In a series of rash decisions, Nadine withdrew from the program she had been accepted into, and instead found a roommate and a place of her own. For the first time in her life, she had made a decision solely on her own – and it had felt better than she ever could have imagined. The early years on her own were full of unsurprising struggles as she learned to juggle her finances, went through more bad roommates than good, and began to confront the various personal demons that were the product of being denied the right to be an individual for so long. However, much to the chagrin of her parents, these days Nadine has found a job she enjoys (that covers the bills and then some) and a tight-knit group of friends whom she can rely upon. John and Sabrina frown upon Nadine’s lifestyle – particularly her involvement with the club – but where she has come is the closest to bliss she has ever been and she’s not about to turn back now with a world of possibility well within her grasp.