{"id":42793,"date":"2013-08-29T16:11:32","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T06:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=42793"},"modified":"2014-01-14T15:52:21","modified_gmt":"2014-01-14T05:52:21","slug":"what-are-you-doing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/08\/29\/what-are-you-doing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are You Doing?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leah Purcell supports the Barambah Parental and Community Engagement (PaCE) program which aims to build an education culture in Murgon and Cherbourg (Photo: Marcus Priaulx)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 22, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Marcus Priaulx<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leah Purcell looked in the bedroom mirror of her Perkins Street home in Murgon at age 18 and said \u201cWho are you, what are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother Florence had just died and Leah could only worry about putting one step in front of the other and breathing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen a little voice in the back of me said \u2018what about your acting?\u2019. It could\u2019ve been my mother talking to me, I don\u2019t know,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Leah, who had a one-month-old daughter, headed to Brisbane with her child to pursue the dream of earning a living from theatre.<\/p>\n

Today she is a star actor, author, playwright, singer, director and producer.<\/p>\n

But Leah\u2019s still passionate about her hometown.<\/p>\n

She said one of her career highlights was beating Kingaroy State High School in the netball grand final.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the captain, maybe the vice-captain, but I always had the mouth and did all the talking,\u201d she said, talking at the Nurunderi TAFE in Cherbourg.<\/p>\n

Leah returned home to open Murgon\u2019s skate park on August 23 and also seized the opportunity to do what she could to inspire young kids.<\/p>\n

Within 24 hours of landing at Brisbane Airport she had driven three hours west and visited St Joseph\u2019s primary and Murgon State High schools, caught up with family from around the district and sat for this interview.<\/p>\n

She said her visits grounded her, as does talking to students at her former school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were hard, very quiet; a tough audience but I had them laughing toward the end,\u201d Leah said.<\/p>\n

She also passed on the message her mum gave to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s to have a purpose in life; to look after yourself and do something for yourself,\u201d Leah said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you respect yourself and look after yourself, everything else falls into place.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you don\u2019t have that support network behind you, so you have to do it for yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s lonely, it\u2019s hard, you might feel rejected but when you get to where you want to be it makes it all worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can then give back to your community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell the young here there\u2019s no reason they can\u2019t be the future mayor of Cherbourg, future headmaster of Cherbourg State School, a nurse at the Cherbourg hospital or the head of the Cherbourg police.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day it\u2019s up to you to want to do something; to have a go.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoredom will follow you everywhere if you let it. Life\u2019s more than that. It\u2019s what you make of it.\u201d<\/p>\n