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December 2009 Blogs
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- Real Girl: Leah
- Guys, the media?... who's to blame for the way girls behave?
- Bobsledding - The Extreme Toboggan
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- Ask a Girl - smells, holiday foods, traditions and memories
Real Girl: Leah
Name: Leah Age: 14 Sign: Capricorn
Faves: My favourite colours are turquoise, blue and silver. I love apple cider and chicken Alfredo, the bands ‘New Cities’ and ‘Theory of a Deadman’, and the TV shows ‘Lost’ and ‘Fringe’. I love Kenya, Africa where I have traveled with my dad, the Winter and going to the movies.
Hobbies: Piano, guitar, reading, swimming, writing, composing, Air Cadets, scrap-booking, singing, dancing, sketching and collecting feathers are some of my hobbies.
School and Stuff: My favourite subjects are music and science. I am part of the Book Club, the Band, and the Outer's Club. The Outer's Club is about seeing new things and travelling to different places. During March Break this year we are going to Greece as a school trip. I'm currently on the honour roll, and so far I'm loving my first year in high school.
Personality: My parents would say that I'm a smart-aleck, too curious for my own good, I use sarcasm as a second language and I'm very stubborn. My friends would say that I love to tease, I have a unique style, I go with flow, and that I'm self-destructive (meaning I am less than graceful). I would add that I don't get mad easily, I love thrills, and I live for laughing until my stomach hurts.
Life Challenge: Well, when I was 8 my mom and I were in a car accident. We were okay though. I got out with a 6 inch cut on my forehead, and my mom broke five bones. It was really scary but I knew it was going to be okay. About a month later, however, we got a call from the hospital. They had taken a closer look at some of my mom's x-rays and found a tumour in one of her ovaries. At first I didn't realize what was going on and why my parents were so quiet and snappy. Finally, my grandma took me aside and explained what was going on. Needless to say, I was terrified. By that time my mom was already scheduled for an operation to try and get rid of the tumour before it got too big. Luckily, the operation was successful, but it was still the most stressful thing I've ever been through. I was so young and I had school going on and friends and everything and I didn’t understand it. I cried for days because I was so upset. My mom talked to me and told me that it was going to be okay, and that others had been through worse. I cried because I never thought about losing my parents and it hit me suddenly that I might only have one parent. That scared me even more because my dad is always away with the Forces and I thought I’d be left at home alone for a while. I was always a little scared about the possibility that my dad might not come back sometimes and with the cancer scare I was worried about my mom too. Thankfully my mom’s operation was successful and she is fine now. I know it’s really hard for my mom that my dad is away but I’m used to it because he’s been doing it ever since I was born. Now I’m grown up and can help out my mom and keep her company. I’m an only child and we get along well. I get along great with my dad too and I think I’m more like him. I email and Facebook with my dad so we stay connected all the time. I have a good life and I feel like I’m pretty lucky compared to some others. My message to other girls who have loved ones who are affected by cancer is this: always keep hoping. Try to focus on the positive, and stand up for what you believe in. It is really, really scary but you can get through it.
Proud of: I am proud of my medals and trophies from piano, my promotions in Air Cadets, my good marks, how I can beat my father in an argument when no one else can, and my best friend Grace who looks a lot like me (people call us the twins).
So Leah: Staying up late, everything blue, wearing a different necklace every day, deliberately wearing the opposite of whatever is 'in fashion', reading until 4:00 in the morning, pulling all-nighters, eating fuzzy peaches candy, pistachios, and collecting cool-shaped erasers is sooooo me!
Cool fact about Leah: I have exactly one Dutch ancestor.
Future: Hopefully, I will graduate from high school, and either go to a university that specializes in music, or go backpacking through Africa. I think I like the second option better ;)
Pet Peeve: When people aren't thankful for what they have, and complain constantly about it.
Photography by Jenne Yun
Leah’s cover photography by Jenne Yun
Hair and Makeup by Angela Gina Pirrera, Melissa Villa, Stephanie Senater, Julia Hofer, Daniella Villa
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cancer, capricorn, book club, real girl, music, GCDA Real Girls, singing, swimming, movies, high school, guitar, university, writing, mom, dad, piano, blue, travel, Facebook, operation, hospital, scrapbooking, dancing, silver, Leah, reading, turquoise, honour roll, apple cider, Alfredo, New Cities, Theory of a Deadman, Lost, Fringe, Kenya, Africa, winter, Air Cadets, feathers, science, band, Outer's Club, March Break, Greece, curious, unique style, car accident, tumour, grandma, the Forces, medals, trophies, fuzzy peaches, Dutch, backpacking through Africa