Winter Sison/Background

Before Moving To Los Santos...
Maria Evangeline Joyce Tuazon Sison, or Winter Sison, is sort of your typical story of a person who has come from small beginnings trying to become a huge success. It's a real rags to riches story that she's trying to achieve; as a child, she would frequently watch American movies and television programs. She's the person who romanticizes everything in her life; she's your typical girly girl.

She slowly realizes that life in America isn't what she expected and that her family status back home isn't giving her any leverage. She has a carefree outlook on life and an amiable aura; she puts this first in most circumstances. However, she does struggle with certain life choices; for example, Winter is not sure of what she wants to achieve in life and what career she wants to pursue. However, this is just a tiny insight into the type of person that she is.

Her family in the Philippines, known mainly in the province of Pangasinan, has established a popular Filipino restaurant called "Carinderia." Winter's grandparents passed down the family business to her parents, which grew and expanded in their own hands. They finally lived comfortably. They have a few branches of Carinderia nationwide and is the primary source of their wealth apart from the numerous companies the Sison family started. As Winter became fonder of the family business and the world of entrepreneurship, she decided to one day bring the restaurant overseas and expand in North America.

Dreams

 * Winter wants to achieve financial freedom in life; coming from a developing country and poor beginnings, she hopes to switch her life around and make a name for herself without her parent's help.
 * Winter wants to find a job that she can enjoy doing. She doesn't have any career plans at the minute, but she hopes to spend her first few days or weeks in Los Santos just exploring the city and getting to know people. Hopefully, some opportunities can pop up, and she'll start a career then.

Strengths

 * Winter is very true to her friends, past and present. She's always truthful to those who show her appreciation and love.
 * This is quite self-explanatory, but she's a very happy-go-lucky type of person. She doesn't have any concerns in the world and is usually taken and takes things at face value.
 * Winter always puts herself "out there" and is always game for a challenge and adventure. Some may call her a social butterfly because she easily makes friends around the city, but she definitely does not mind having some alone time for herself.

Weaknesses

 * She suffers from commitment issues.
 * She cannot stand still. She has to walk or move in any sort of way.
 * Due to Winter's outgoing and friendly personality, she can sometimes find herself in a socially awkward position.
 * Occasionally, Winter resorts to telling white lies when she is in tight situations.

Background
22-Year-old solopreneur Winter Sison is born in the late nineties in Antipolo, Philippines. Her parents in the Philippines were quite well off, they ran a successful market near their city, and they soon found themselves living in one of the nicer parts of Antipolo City.

Growing up was great for Winter; she would regularly visit her grandparents who lived in a nearby house, have playdates with her classmates, and would regularly travel internationally with her family for vacation. She fondly remembers cooking traditional Filipino dishes with her mother and grandmother, and hosting dinners for the entire family.

Although Winter was very young, she felt like she was involved in the family and the business, and it's shaped her personality throughout the years into being the open and honest girl that she is. Winter's father was rarely at the house; he would usually operate the business they owned He was a proud and hard-working man who came from nothing; it meant the world to him when his daughter would smile out of appreciation. This meant that Winter was also a bit of a spoiled girl but knows how to work hard for the things she personally wanted, the way her father did.

Now, as Winter was getting older, she started to become a lot more interested in the family trade. She was always ahead in her school classes and showed signs that she had an incredibly gifted and talented mind; however, she wanted to be involved in her parents' business.

At first, she used to be there on the weekends and be her father's right hand man. As her father takes on multiple meetings, she would sit back and watch famous American sitcoms and movies on the television that sat in the office.

She fantasized about the American dream; she wanted to be out there living on a beach house with a great view, driving the convertible sports car, and not having a care in the world. I mean, who wouldn't want that sort of life? She knew that she'd only get there through one way; that was education. She saw many of her cousins and mutual friends going out to America and Canada on study permits growing up. She knows that her parents won't allow her to go out and study in America, though; she'd instead get her qualifications in the Philippines, then travel out to America. It's easier to get a work permit in the States if you're educated (as told by her agency).

Eventually, Winter started to attend high school; this was an interesting experience. Her love for American and western cultures and her Filipino traditions didn't play hand in hand together at her high school. Sometimes she was targeted with jokes and sly digs on the playground. She didn't care, though; she knew that in a few years, she'd be leaving the Philippines for America, a place where she could start fresh. She kept her head down during her studies and ensured that she got the desired grades to advance her education towards university. She ended up going to university, studying IT and Business. This was quite a popular course; however, she only did it because it's pretty universal and might help her eventually get to Los Santos. Now while in university, she knew that she'd need a job, work permits in the states aren't free, and there's no way she'll get her parents to pay for it.

She believed it was time for her to make her moves and become her own woman, you know? She studied long and hard hours at the library, and when she was finished with her studies, she started working at a local restaurant as a waitress, hustling and squeezing each and every penny out of her spare hours.

Now in the present day, Winter has graduated from her course from university. Every morning she heads over to the pile of mail, just praying that one is marked with the correct emblem. Many months of waiting for a letter from the citizen and immigration services, and the eagerness to open the letter and see that she's been approved to live and work in the US has arrived.