NAME: Finneas Sullivan
NICKNAME(S): Finn
AGE: Thirty
BIRTHDAY: TBD.
GENDER IDENTIFICATION: Cis Man (he/him)
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: TBD. lol
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single
RESIDENTIAL AREA: Gas Town
OCCUPATION: English Professor
PLACE OF BIRTH: Vancouver
Family was everything. It was something engrained in him through watching his family simply exist. It was part of business. It was part of school. It was part of every fiber of his life. The second son of the Sullivanâs grew up surrounded by warmth and love, by examples of good men and strong women. Childhood was spending nights at his grandfatherâs pub, full of laughter and chatter, and days with his grandmother homeschooling him (till around elementary school). He listened to stories of their life back in Ireland, before coming here. He daydreamed of the places heâd learn about. Though, he loved his whole family immensely, Matt was certainly his favorite. His older brother was four years his elder, and in Finnâs opinion the coolest person in the world. He looked up to the older boy, wanting to emulate him in every way. Finn was the quieter of the two. Matt seemed to know how to talk to just about anyone. He felt like his older brother could make anyone feel special. Shyness seemed to impede him in ways it didnât for Matt.
When they stopped being homeschooled, Finn felt thankful that his brother paved a way for him. It wasnât uncommon to be greeted with a Oh, youâre Sullyâs brother? Some might have felt like they were living in their older brotherâs shadow, but Finn never saw it like that. It took out some of the small talk and complication that came with making friends. He liked tagging along and feeling a part of something. Finn played sports in high school. He wasnât the best. He wasnât bad. To be honest, he wasnât even sure if he liked any of them that much. His friends played sports, so he did too. It felt like a lot of his life followed this pattern. Finn followed. He liked the things his friends liked, not stopping to wonder if he liked him or not until the question of college came up. A guidance counselor at school told him with grades like his, and his extra-curriculars, all he needed was a good essay to get into some of the top schools. She asked him what he might want to go to school for and he had zero idea.
All the essay topics for college felt more like forced self-analysis, pointing a big arrow to the fact that he knew nothing about himself. He started to wonder if he went to a big oleâ smart people college, could he make friends on his own, without his older brother to pave the way? Would he know what to talk about with intelligent people? Would he be able to hold his own? Finn decided on college for English, which came to a surprise to his whole family. The younger Sullivan went to University of Toronto all the way on the other side of the country. The first year of college was the hardest of his life. It got in on scholarship, so maintaining his grades was highly important. He didnât know how balancing his life, grades, girls, friends, sports, and parties could be so easy in high school and so complicated now. He started seeing the school counselor as his grades slipped where she informed him it had nothing to do with his potential and more to do with his mental health. He fell into a rut, being away from everything he knew so well. He struggled to make friends at the same capacity as he did in high school. He felt alone for the first time in forever. He felt misunderstood. More than that, he felt incapable of expressing that to anyone. To everyone back home he pretended to be fine.
The second year felt even harder in its own ways. Being home from school for summer only reminded him of how different it was. Right before Christmas, Finn got word that his closest friend from home committed suicide. Shortly after arriving back home for the holiday, he was diagnosed with depression. Everything felt purposeless and going back to the other side of the country felt impossible. He tried, though. Finn tried to be strong. Eventually he ended up transferring to UBC where he could be at home to finish his degree, followed by his graduate degree. Finn just got his first position as an English Professor at the same school. With years of experience and hard work, he feels less like a fraud, but still struggles with much of the same things he did in his younger years












