Name: Daniika
Gender: Female
Age 22
Nationality: Romani, with minor roots of german and pakistani. Born/lived in Turkey.
Sexuality: Straight
Religious Beliefs: Being of the Roma (or gypsy) ethnic group, Daniika has chosen to adopt no formal religion, but instead follows the traditional lifestyle of her people. Heavily influenced at a young age by her grandmother, Daniika has faith in the supernatural, omens and curses.
Early Life & BackgroundDaniika's family has strong roots of Romani; sometimes referred to as the gypsy people. Her entire family once lived a traditional, nomadic lifestyle, but her parents and elderly grandmother decided to set up a permanent residence in Turkey before she was born.
Daniika had a very humble upbringing. Her parents, grandmother and herself shared a small house on the outskirts of the town, with her parents running a small carpet business from home and her grandmother busying herself by making and selling beautiful woven scarves and fabrics.
Daniika's family lived a simple, humble lifestyle, and as a child, Daniika soon picked up on this simplistic way of life. Although her parents were often very content and nonchalant, the one thing they desired amongst all others was for their only daughter to receive a quality education. They wanted her to do well in school and make something of herself; to become a doctor, a lawyer or other highly regarded occupation. However, Daniika had other ideas...
From a young age Daniika showed a very keen interest in the arts and humanities; music, dance, art, photography, history and in particular, literature. Throughout her school life, Daniika struggled with the maths and sciences and eventually dropped out of school at the age of 16 to pursue her passions, much to her parents' displeasure. They were so disappointed in fact that they kicked her out of the house, and told to return when she had made something of herself. Her grandmother, a firm believer in the value of the arts and history, supported Daniika and essentially became her family.
So at 16 years old Daniika was homeless and near penniless, but with her grandmother's support, she set off to travel the world. Daniika managed to hitchhike her way everywhere around Europe and South Asia, by travelling with backpackers or painting pictures to earn a free ride. She documented all that she saw and by the age of 18, had collected a large and extensive collection of travel diaries, paintings and photos.
Her grandmother, seeing great talent and potential in her granddaughter, funded her to take a small trip to America to sell her work. Daniika was quite successful, mostly from selling paintings on the street. After making enough money to sustain her new life, she set up a permanent residence in New York City.
Current TimesDaniika lives a semi-nomadic lifestyle; Although she has acquired a permanent residence in a small apartment, it is more or less a place for her to stash her belongings. She spends most of her time travelling the world, visiting museums and libraries, attending music festivals, exploring the great outdoors and expanding her knowledge on the world around her. Daniika has no current intentions of ever giving up her lifestyle, as she believes there is always something new to discover. She has not had contact with her parents since she was 17.
8 Word Sum Up:Observative - Considerate - Gregarious - Adventurous - Inquisitive - Complaisant - Astute
On the outsideOptimistic and ComplaisantDaniika is able to see the best in any situation, and uses unfavorable circumstances as a way to learn for the future.
Laid Back, Simple, and EasygoingTime has no meaning to Daniika, nor do other worries such as money or possessions. In fact, she would be content in owning nothing but her photo's and sketch books! She lives a fairly simple life and finds joy in the little things. Small annoyances don't bother Daniika, as she sees them as a way to learn and that things don't need to be rushed.
Timid Daniika is quite shy and timid around strangers, especially if there's no common ground to start a conversation on. She will avoid public speaking at all costs and would prefer to hide in the background and do her own thing than be in the spotlight.
That being said though, she loves meeting new friends on her travels, especially those who have traveled as she has, or with whom she shares similar interests.
InquisitiveDaniika possesses an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and discovery!
Digging DeeperAdventurous and outgoingNot particularly keen on extreme sports, Daniika's version of adventure is more about exploring the world around her and making memories
Cautious, respectful and considers consequences carefully - calculatingDaniika believes that every action should be considered carefully. If she believes something will cause more harm than good, she won't do it. She is very respectful of others and their feelings and would never intentionally hurt someone, even if it means lying to them.
Somewhat two-facedDaniika finds it very easy to hide her emotions. She would never use this to her advantage or to gain something, but it allows her to hide her true feelings as to not hurt others.
Intelligent - AstuteShe's not an algebra whiz, but Daniika possesses a special kind of intelligence; street smarts. She can find her way around a foreign city and easily brainstorms ways to break the language barrier when travelling. She also has an uncanny ability to judge others: she can easily tell their motives for doing something and so she knows who is friend and who is foe.
Gregarious and community orientatedDaniika, although shy, enjoys the company of others around her. Not so much talking and meeting new friends, but being in an environment where she sees others interacting, such as at a music festival. Daniika enjoys being part of a community of like-minded beans.
ObservativePerhaps Daniika's most noticeable trait, she is very observant and will take the time to stop and smell the roses. She feels a strange sense of contentedness when observing wildlife or the way in which others act together. It is a difficult thing to explain from Daniika's perspective, though she believes this trait is something she would not trade for the world.
Adaptive and resourcefulA nomadic lifestyle means that Daniika has learnt to use what is readily available to survive. Hitchhiking is a frequent method of transport for Daniika and you will never see her plan a trip!
AmbidextrousShe is able to use both her left and right hands just as well as each other, and favours neither particularly.
SuperstitiousNot of the western variation (stepping on cracks, walking under ladders etc), Daniika's superstitions come from her Romani culture. Although she does not strictly adhere to all superstitions, she is insistent on checking horoscopes and learning her future, wears good luck amulets and talismans and carries a silk scarf for good luck. She fears ghosts, but unlike Romani superstition she does not avoid dogs, rats, cats or foxes and will gladly wear the colour red.
Tongue TiedDaniika's tongue is longer than average size. Although it doesn't affect her ability of speech, it pokes through her teeth when she smiles or is concentrating and often makes its way out of mouth, making her look a bit silly.
She is fluent in Vlax Romani,which is the native tongue of her family. She barely speaks it though, and considers it one of her secret skills.
Power Nap Fanatic and Nocturnal beingDaniika doesn't sleep for long periods very often. She often takes around 8 or 9 short half hour naps a day when she can squeeze them in, then stays up all night busying herself with painting or midnight strolls. She finds that she is the most productive late at night.
Likes:
- Busy places and crowds
- The outdoors
- Libraries and Museums
- Home cooked meals
- Extreme heights
Dislikes
- Rushing
- Those who don't appreciate the arts
- Those who are impatient
- Being underground or in elevators
- Being alone
Mami = Grandma | Belbi = Baby |
Dej = Mother |
Dad = Father
Wandering through the old building, the young bean's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Everywhere she looked she new and exciting things; To her left, a great skeleton of an unrecognizable beast, and to her right a crumbling sculpture of an oak tree. "
Mami," the young bean called softly, her voice bouncing off the high ceiling of the empty hall, "What is this place?"
An elderly bean turned to look at her granddaughter, a multitude of bracelets and bangles jingling on her wrists as she moved. "Oh, Daniika,
belbi,"she chuckled in a low, aged voice, "I have told you this only a hundred times! This is the museum"
"Museum," The young bean repeated, her eyes darting around the hall, "I like the museum,
Mami"
The elderly bean chuckled again and continued to pull her granddaughter through the displays.
~
That night, the young bean's voice filled the tiny living room of her house. "And then, then we saw butterflies and- what were they called,
Mami?" She spoke so quickly that her flustered parents were barely able to make sense of her excitement.
"Do you mean the birds, Daniika?" Her grandma chuckled with a smile.
"Yes, the
birds" Daniika sighed, her thoughts drifting back to the museum. "Can we go to the museum again tomorrow,
Mami?
Dej and
dad can come too!"
Daniika stared pleadingly at her parents, who shared a disappointed glance. "No, Daniika, you have study to do. You don't want to fall behind at school"
Daniika slumped in her place and nodded in defeat, before slinking out of the living room and up into her own room. Curling up in bed, Daniika felt a soft paw on her back. "
Mami?"
The elderly bean smiled mischieviously. "Get up early,
belbi. We're going to the museum tomorrow"
A silk scarf, made by her grandmother
Many rings of different metals and designs
Bracelets with amulets and treasures of her travels, such as coins
String and plaited anklets, from various locations around the world
A number of earrings
Her trusty camera
A small sketch book and pencil
Her iPod
Writing
Painting
Photography
Music
Travelling
Power napping
I literally just did a heap of googling about the Romani people/culture, so anyone sees anything that is wrong don't hesitate to send a pm my way and ill fix it! All art is by me
