28 // Project manager at an
advertising agency *
From: Atlantic Beach, Florida
Lives in: East Ukrainian Village
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At 22, this carefree small-town Floridian packed up her Isuzu Rodeo and headed to Chicago without a job. After landing a position in advertising, Kelly adopted the Midwest—and its frigid winters—as her beloved home.

How would your friends describe you? “I’m dependable. My friend just texted me to see if I could pick her up at the airport tonight because she just broke up with her boyfriend.”

So you’re the go-to shoulder to cry on. “I’m not the first person they call when they want to party hard, but I’m there when it counts. If I had a choice between being the party girlfriend or the reliable one, I’d rather be the person you spill your heart out to.”

On friendly getaways: “Every year, I caravan with about two dozen of my friends to the Wisconsin Dells to chase away the winter blues. We rent a gigantic three-story log cabin, and after a long day of indoor water slides and wave pools, we head back to the cabin to cook a feast. Last year, I decided to continue the slide theme and used a baking sheet to sled down a snowy hill behind the cabin. No one joined me because it was too cold, but I provided the entertainment.”

On her dependability: “I have always been a dependable person. One time when my friend went to Europe, I carefully watered her houseplant for a month without her even asking. I thought I was doing a great job of taking care of it but was surprised to learn when she got back that it was an artificial tree.”

On her childhood: “I was a big tomboy. I played soccer up until my senior year of high school, so I wore Umbros while all my girlfriends were wearing Banana Republic. I was pretty reserved as a kid. My bratty side came out with my parents. At school, I was, of course, very kind and had manners, but when I got home, I was a terror. My mom likes to tell stories about me as a little kid. If I didn’t get something at the mall, I would start crying and pounding my fists on the floor. And she would just pretend like she didn’t know me. As I got older, I realized that was really embarrassing behavior.” —N.O.