CURRENT MISSION

Hi I'm Leah, I just graduated from high school and recently deffered my acceptance to college so I could take a gap year. I am going to Japan for about 6 months to visit family, WWOOF, explore and hopefully film a lot of great sites!

ABOUT ME

I have been in Oberlin for my entire life and despite my efforts to find a college elsewhere, I will be attending Oberlin College. That is part of the reason for why I'd like to take a gap year and explore Japan and myself. I've traveled quite a bit in my life and consider myself quite lucky for having all of those opportunities. There are some things I love, cats,the natural world, music, movies and friends. My main interest is cinema studies, which I plan to pursue at Oberlin College. I don't consider myself shy, but I get nervous very easily which makes me quiet. I really want get over that fear, which is why I'd like to throw myself alone into a new culture - I hope it works!

PHILOSOPHY

I guess I haven't quite solidified this, I'm still learning new things everyday...
But I guess we only have one life, it is best to spend it happy, with people we love and doing things we enjoy.
Also, what my grandfather used to say was to do things for others without expecting anything in return. I think that's important, expectation is what seems to ruin a lot of people.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When I heard of this, I was really excited. There are too many "artificial" ways to travel, if people want to see the world for what it really is - this sounds like the best way to do it! I think learning about different cultures and opening our arms to everyone is important. I can't wait till I have my own home, I will get an incredible couch! Hopefully I can participate more when I'm more stable.

Interests

I really enjoy drawing, listening to music, watching movies, playing with cats, visiting with friends, getting things done, making movies, making music...riding my bike, eating, shopping...exploring new places...that sort of thing.

• cats
• arts
• culture
• cooking
• crafts
• gardening
• shopping
• movies
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• music
• violin
• cycling
• hiking
• wwoof

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing thing I've done is go on a hiking trip. The six of us in my family (me, mom, step dad, two step sisters and brother) went on a three and half month hike, starting at Springer Mountain, Georgia and ending about 1,000 miles later at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. It was a life changing experience,it was absolutely incredible. I met amazing people, saw beautiful sites and had some crazy/good/scary/fun/bad experiences along the way.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm not an expert in anything really, but there are things I'm OK at. I've played the violin for 14 years, since I was four. I have very basic knowledge on making movies using imovie and Final Cut Express. I have basic knowledge on teaching people how to draw or paint...I think that's it. I want to learn more about movie editing, art, cooking, gardening and different crafts.

Countries I’ve Visited

Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States