Carissa Walker was due to be a Halloween baby. It was something her two eldest sisters weren't too thrilled about, that their mother may or may not be able to take them trick or treating because they had yet another sister on the way. Luck was on their side when Carissa was born a month earlier than expected, her mother's water breaking right in the middle of prepping her oldest daughter, Claire, for elementary school. Twelve hours of labor later and Carissa Vivien Walker was born on September 30th, 1989 to make the Walker family complete. Both of the Walker parents had yearned for a son, especially Calvin Walker, but instead they were blessed with four young girls: Claire, Carrington aka Carrie, Chelsea, and now Carissa.
It was a struggle to keep up in a house full of estrogen. While being the youngest had its perks of being coddled, it got old for Carissa as she grew older. The shy girl wanted to be left to her own devices, whether it was to catch frogs by the creek or read a book in her father's study. Her parents often worried that her shyness would be problematic for her. They encouraged her to scamper around with the neighborhood children and befriend more kids at school but Carissa was fearful that she wouldn't measure up to not one, not two, but three older sisters who had carved out their own paths. Her parents were supportive of whatever endeavors she threw herself into, save for bringing home the occasional stray animal or injured bird to nurse it back to health. Her fondness for animals started at an early age, feeling more relaxed interacting with God's creatures than people. Again, it was something that was chalked up to her shy and reserved nature and didn't raise any alarms among her parents. Her mother and father did push her to join school activities to help her socialize with her peers and Carissa obliged. She entered spelling bees and science fairs, often bringing home first or second prize. She was encouraged to break out of her shell by joining drama club and make friends by joining track and field - her love for the outdoors and running had prepped her for a successful middle and high school track career.
Carissa proved to be a dream come true when she was a teenager, opting for quiet nights in rather than sneaking out to local parties. She rarely got in trouble, save for a few incidents for skipping school or refusing to dissect a frog in her biology class. While she remained in the shadow of her older sister Chelsea who was an upperclassmen while Carissa was a freshman, her high school experience was a far cry from being a nightmare. She earned good grades, participated in sports and clubs, and held a few friends near and dear to her heart. As Carissa grew older, she yearned to see beyond Shreveport and decided that college was the perfect opportunity. The young girl had wanted to work with animals ever since she could remember and started looking for colleges that offered Animal Science programs both on the east and west coast. After much debate, Carissa settled on California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to continue her studies and put herself on the track to becoming a vet tech.
Needless to say, college was a good place for Carissa to find her identity. She worked hard but still found time for a healthy social life. California was a strange land for the Louisiana native but it managed to be a breath of fresh air for her, letting her know that there was a world beyond the one she had known for the first eighteen years of her life. As time went by, California began to feel more and more like home. So it was really no surprise that Carissa decided to move to Orange County after graduating in 2011, especially with her sisters nearby. The life that Carissa made for herself was a good one with a job at a local animal hospital, family nearby, and making good friends. She really thrived until the summer of 2013 when her father was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Instead of wallowing in their collective misery, the Walker family packed up into their RV and made sure to make the best of the time Calvin Walker had left until his death in November of that year.
Since her father's death, Carissa felt lost. Her attempts to be strong for the sake of her sisters were in vein, as she put her own health at risk and wound up in the hospital with an ulcer and malnutrition in March. Carissa could never imagine a world without her father but it's a reality she's been attempting to cope with, one day at a time.