My Life Story

Hey

My name is Louisa Short and I am 14 years old. I live with my mum, dad, two sisters, Rebecca and Jacinda. Rebecca is 20 years old and Jacinda is 18.

My hometown is Tauranga, although my second home would have to be Raglan, a town on the west coast of the North Island, New Zealand. The views are stunning and the shops are cool.

I live at Mount Tutu Eco Sanctuary, a beautiful place set in rainforest which offers accomodation, in Tauranga.

I LOVE singing at concerts with my sisters, Rebecca and Jacinda. We sing popular classics in harmony. We sing regularly at many different places including shopping malls, rest homes, charity concerts, church events, and street performing.

Our first time of singing together publicly, was at the steps of the New Zealand Parliament in November 2003, followed by a recording played to the Health Select Committee in February 2004 (this tear-wrenching rendition was aired on TV News and National Radio). This was as a result of our family’s Petition of 125,000 signatures to Parliament, calling for an expansion of the Breast Screening Programme from the previous 50 – 64 years – and now 45 – 69 years as a result of this Petition. Our Mum (Debbie) was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2001 – after surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and ongoing treatment she is now a 6 year Cancer Survivor!
From 2005 we started singing in public regularly and we were honoured to be able to sing often at the Bayfair Shopping Centre, Mount Maunganui. In 2006, drama happened while singing in Bayfair when the glass ceiling above us came crashing down shattering glass over us and others. Onlookers said it happened exactly at the time the high note was hit! In 2006 we sung in the inaugural "Christmas in the Bay" and in 2007 while busking in Auckland we were invited to sing on the TV1 Breakfast Show.
We are a close family with Mum (Debbie) and Dad (Tim) always about to give us support and guidance.

This year I am Year 10 at Tauranga Girls' College and I'm really enjoying it!

Anyways, better go now :)

Louisa
xoxo

Dawn

The first signs of daylight awake me. It is 5:00am as I stumble sleepily out of bed. I can see it is going to be a beautiful day as I pull aside the curtains. Opening the window, I inhale as I smell the fresh aroma of lavender which is drifting through the open window. Seizing my dressing gown off the bed post, I hurry outside. The crisp morning air is chilly, but it soon refreshes me. Hastening my steps, I scamper up the mountain, getting further and further away from the small cottage.

At last at the top of the ridge I take a moment to stop and rest. Taking the weight off my feet, I sit down on a surprisingly wide log, which I find quite comfortable as it has been used many times before, worn smooth by the many passing travellers.

Looking at the stunning view, I notice that the sun is starting to come up over the horizon. Soft shades of pink, red, yellow, orange and even purple fill the sky. It is spectacular. Slowly, but surely, the sun moves it’s way across the atmosphere, producing a brightness that lights up the heavens, skies and earth. I sigh. It is truly magnificent!

Remembering the chilliness of the morning, I now feel warm and revived for the day. Capturing one last glimpse of the vanishing sunrise, I make my way down the hillside and thank God for such a WONDERFUL world!

SPOTTED MANTIS

Magnificent colours like rays of light on a vast garden, painted onto this richly adorned Spotted Mantis. Green, red, and black, all intermingled to compose a stunning creature. The wings, delicate like a Thrush’s egg, can be torn any moment in time. Green like the power of envy, wishing earnestly to steal another's affection. Like the spine of a feather, the legs are thin and spindly, but incredibly strong, empowering strength into this Mantis. The hands, thrust up into the unknown, praising the Creator of whom he is made, longing to understand the secrets of existence.

The heart of this radiant being must surely be beaming with joy, hope and love.

Written by Louisa Short—12 years
31 July 2007

STAR GAZING....

I slip on the undergrowth covered with fallen dew and I feel myself falling, falling, falling….

I awake.

It is nighttime and the sliver of moonlight is dappled through the trees.
The stars, surrounding the galaxies, are shining as bright as a 50-watt torch in a dark, cold cave.
I gaze around my surroundings, and I discover that I am in a small valley with gigantic trees, at least 500 years old, towering above me.
Along the banks are thousands of tiny Glow Worms, shining like stars.
I make my way up the stream, back to the Kereru Whare and as I open the door, I stop to hear the New Zealand Morepork calling, its’ voice echoing through the forests at Mount Tutu Eco-Sanctuary.
“Morepork! Morepork! Morepork!”