By Katharine Shao, Detroit Country Day
With her mustard yellow pants, blue jean jacket and a determined look on her face, Gurliv “Liv” Chahal is ready for anything life throws at her. A history lover and adamant reader of the “Wall Street Journal” since her freshman year at Detroit Country Day School, Chahal is simply fascinated by life.
Chahal knows that life isn’t just fun and filled with happy endings; her childhood was a clear indicator of why she thought like this. When she was younger, her grandmother had passed away, but it wasn’t easy on the rest of the family.
“When she was hurt, it hurt the whole family,” Chahal said. “The pain never stopped, and getting over it was hard.”
She learned that she had to get through life’s hurdles because there is a rainbow at the end of the rain.
However, experiences like these don’t define her. She is a successful student at a great school, where “everyone is a big family there because the teachers and students are very supportive.”
Chahal also participates in many activities, such as Forensics. Her passion for that has shown, as she was ranked sixth in the state of Michigan for Extemporaneous Speech.
One of her career goals is to become a lawyer. She loves the oratorical aspect of it, and with her strong basis in forensics and public speech, it is no surprise. But simply having the skillset to do this isn’t why she wants to do it. “Just fighting for a side and justice prevailing” is what really motivates her.
Aside from the fact that she has a positive attitude of life and promising career goals, she also loves to enjoy life and relax. Her hobbies include running and reading. On the more creative side of her personality, Chahal enjoys doing pottery. She appreciates the fact that is hands on, and has depth to it rather than a flat piece of paper.
“You can actually use the things you make, instead of just hanging something up on a wall,” Chahal said.
Her favorite movies and books all have one thing in common: they portray life as it is, not as people want it to be. “Titanic” is an epic classic where not all of the characters make it to the end, and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” tells the tale of a girl and her family living in a tenement and are struggling to get by.
“It really puts my life into perspective,” Chahal said. “My thinking becomes deeper and it makes me a more well-rounded person, reading about different people, so when I grow up I won’t be in the bubble of the world I know now — I want to be able to give back.”
Katharine, you have, in both a brief and vivid way, showed me who Chahal is. I may not know everything about her, but you gave me a good idea of who she is. I especially admire the way you opened up with her story, “With her mustard yellow pants, blue jean jacket and a determined look on her face, Gurliv “Liv” Chahal is ready for anything life throws at her.” Not only could I automatically picture her in my head, but you also set up who she is as a person. Determined. Passionate. Her story inspired me. And to me it seems that you asked all the right questions in order to best capture her character.