Intro with PICS to be interesting
I'm Leah, 28 years old
with my best friend from high school, Jason
Pacific ocean!
I live in Minneapolis, MN
With my cats
Lily
and Liam:
I went to college at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota with a B.A. in Legal Studies, Psychology, and Women's Studies with a Paralegal Certificate.
I GRADUATED from law school at Lewis & Clark in January 2014.
As cheesy as it sounds, the summer camp I worked at immediately after high school and for the next two summers saved and changed my life. It's a special needs camp; I worked primarily with adults females (because I hate packs of children). When I arrived, the leadership staff questioned whether I'd make it and when my parents dropped me off they told me they'd be back to get me in a week. I LOVED IT. I saw that I was making a difference for the campers and it provided me a fulfillment I had never experienced before. I learned to believe in myself (I overcame everyone's doubt about me) like I never had before. Years of abuse living with my family really broke me down -- more than I realized -- and at camp I really really started becoming and loving myself. My second summer, I was working with one of the most high needs (medical and behavioral) campers we had. She had a very rare genetic condition that resulted in partial blindness, deafness, minimal sign language communication, low impulse control, and low tolerance for frustration. The thing that calmed her down was hanging upside down. Everyone was scared of her because of how unpredictable she was. After working with her for a week, we had a kind of system worked out. She liked to push limits and and once you give in, she's not going to stop pushing. I was able to be firm with her, required her to do things for herself, help me take care of her, apologize if she hurt me, etc. One night she was on her bed, hanging, and I signed to her asking if she wanted her lights turned off. She signed "yes." I signed "yes, please?" She signed, "please, thank you." I signed "I love you," not expecting her to do anything. Then she signed "I love you!" back and I melted.
I love baby animals!!
I will see this baby soon!
Serious stuff:
My oldest brother (Daniel) severely abused me in every way possible and my parents didn't do much about it. I am the first to admit that I didn't say much about what was going on because if I did, he would hurt me more. It became a risk-danger decision: is this bad enough to make telling and risking serious future harm or should I just suck it up? Most of the time I decided to suck it up with unfortunate consequences for me: severe depression, anxiety, DID (dissociative identity disorder -- formerly known as multiple personality disorder), and severe PTSD.
I have spent time inpatient in trauma treatment centers at River Oaks Hospital n New Orleans, Life Healing Center in Santa Fe, and Timberlawn in Dallas. As well as 2 psychiatric wards in Portland, and one in Minneapolis.
I'm DIVORCED from my abusive husband Luke.
Questions?