I'm a Survivor

Maya, born Mi-Sun, was born in the DC area shortly after her parents had moved there from Korea to work at the Pentagon. Her parents held her to rather high expectations. They expected perfection in everything. When she was younger, she did her best to live up to those standards but when she got to be a teenager, she started to act out. She would sneak out, partake in weed and alcohol and hang out with boys. Maya was tired of these high expectations and when she turned 18, she changed her name to Maya and moved out to live with her boyfriend at the time. All she wanted was to be free and be herself.

Maya couldn't really afford to put herself through college and her parents had essentially disowned her when she moved out so she turned to trade. She was always good at art and joined an apprenticeship at a tattoo studio. The money was good and soon she was a full fledged tattoo artist. There was something so liberating about being able to tattoo people. Help them express themselves. Able to offer an outlet for people - one she hadn't been afforded growing up. Now she could express herself any way she wanted without anyone looking down on what she did.

When she wasn't working, Maya frequented the bars in DC. That is where she met someone who would end up being the closest thing she had to a relationship. The two were looking for some fun and their one night stand started to become a frequent occurrence. She was not complaining. The friendship was great and the benefits even better. However she should have expected to catch feelings. Maya had convinced herself that she could keep this casual but she made the mistake of falling for him, even though he made it fairly clear that he was not looking for anything serious. So she stuffed her feelings down deep.

Then the outbreak happened. The two of them had been together and had stuck with one another through the outbreak. They lived together and survived together and honestly, despite the shitty world everything had become, Maya could enjoy this. So long as she was with him. But an argument led to them parting ways and she hadn't seen him since. Maya had been on her own since, traveling around and surviving. She's heard tell of a town of survivors and has steadily been making her way there. A girl can only be on her own for so long, after all.

Headcanons:

When Maya separated from her ex, she went to find her parents. Their home had been destroyed by looters and apparently they had left the country at the first chance they could. She doesn't know if they're alive or dead and honestly, she doesn't care. They didn't bother reaching out to her or seeing if she was alright so why would she care what happened to them? 

Still very much has feelings for her ex. She has no idea if he's even still alive but the hope is there. The fight and separation really tore her up and she wishes she could go back and change what happened.

The one thing she keeps with her at all times is her sketchbook. When she's feeling overwhelmed she'll pull it out and just draw. It's the one thing that's kept her going through this whole thing.