InsaneJournal

Felicity Hodgkins was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1974 to a pair of very religious Catholics. She was the second eldest one in the family, with a handful of brothers and sisters, seven in total including her. They loved having a large family but didn't have much money. They lived in a small apartment where she shared a room with all of her sisters for the early parts of her life. Her mother worked at a home improvement store and her father worked on a ranch tending to horses and helping out with corn or something. Life was pretty secluded, they didn't have many neighbors in their rural outskirts town far away from the main part of the city.

The thing they did go into the city for was church. It was the main staple of the family, going to Mass every week and attending bible camp during the summers. She loved going and from an early age she knew she wanted to make a difference in people's lives. Her parents encouraged her to do well in school and she did, well enough to get her choice of colleges when the time came. Her older brother had already moved out of the house to become a doctor, and now it was her time.

She moved to Chicago to attend college there, majoring in art design. Felicity loved to paint in watercolors and she was actually pretty good. She joined a new church but like lots of kids that go to college and come from a small town she got a bit caught up in things like parties that her roommate would take her to. She tried alcohol for the first time, smoked pot and had a lot of sex. By the end she wasn't going to church anymore, but she felt bad about it but not enough to stop. Eventually she even stopped talking to her parents and her siblings.

Finally she graduated and moved into a place by herself. She started to paint, trying to get them sold to someone but no one bought them. In order to get money she did some unsavory things that she doesn't ever like to talk about and which still weighs on her mind though she's asked for forgiveness for those sins. Thankfully she never got into heavy drugs or was into anything really bad, but it was far from God's plan for her. Once or twice she did sell a couple of the things she painted and lived off of that money. And for about two years she worked as a receptionist at a gallery but that never went anywhere either.

About six years ago she started working at a homeless shelter that focused on a food program and one that helped battered women after having volunteered for a couple nights a week by the Fathe rof her church. A couple of nights turned into more of the week and eventually she found herself nearly running the whole thing. It was during that time that she met Gideon Chase at the hospital he worked at when she brought one of the women down to see him. The two became very good friends, and she realized she could open up to him about some of the things in her past and not have him judge her.

Though she desperately wanted to become a painter and make art, she felt that God wanted more and that God had been calling her to become a nun and so she took her temporary vows. She's been doing that for the past two years about but lately she's been thinking about giving up her vows, but they're just that, vows and so she's a bit lost and confused. God seems to be pulling her into two different directions and she isn't quite sure what to do about it.

A bit flighty, but she means well. She's very good natured, maybe a little too much if there's such a thing. It's really hard to get her riled up, she doesn't get angry very often. Some would say that she's far too cheerful and optimistic. She loves God, but she has some issues with the Church she grew up in. Her beliefs are very different from those that the Church has, such as where God stands on forgiveness and confession, and lots of other things. While she'll always be spiritual, and pray every day, and read the Bible (which she believes in, but not quite as literally as some) it's hard to tell where her relationship with the Church is depending. A lot of the time she waffles between becoming a nun and not attending church anymore all together.

When she promises something, she does everything she can to make sure that it comes true. Her favorite thing is to paint, though the paintings she makes are usually erotic in nature or at least something that most people in the church wouldn't approve of. Above all, she believes that God knows her true heart, and so what other people think about her beliefs are inconsequential. She's not the kind of person who will force her beliefs on other people, she doesn't try to convert them or anything. She believes that her life is example enough. Though she thinks that peace doesn't come easily to people who have religious ties. Sometimes she can be a bit motherly, she likes to protect people and look after them.

Besides painting, she wishes she could live outside in the wilderness. She loves it out there, and not being stifled by things even if she sunburns really easily. Of course she'd miss television a lot, so maybe it's not her ideal situation. Her emotions get the better of her, she blushes too easily, feels things too easily and too fast, and generally gets swept up in things without thinking too much about them. She will always trust her heart over her head. She adores teasing people, and doing anything to have a good time.