Many children dream of bright lights and big cities. Leah Darrow, a former contestant on America’s Next Top Model,  had this dream until she realized that it was not what she thought it would be. She changed her life and now is walking the red carpet with God.

       Darrow came to Mercy on January 31st to speak to the young women of Mercy and Ladywood High School. She discussed chastity, God, love, and the many pressures of being a teenage girl. The students appreciated her nonstop enthusiasm, fun sense of style, heart-breaking stories, and her faith. Darrow said she wants to be a saint and to change the lives of others.

        Darrow did not tell students what they were supposed to do and what was right and wrong. Instead, her openness about certain experiences in her life touched the audience and made them feel both her happiness and suffering.

        “My first impression of her was that she was gorgeous!” said Maddie Duesterberg, a junior at Mercy. “When she started discussing her past I was shocked at how much she had been through. Though I have never experienced that much, I still felt a connection to her. She really had me intrigued and interested in what she had to say.”

        Darrow admitted that she wanted to fit in, just like many other teenage girls. She went along with the crowd, although she knew it was not what she wanted to do and she lost sight of what God wanted her to do. Today she travels all around the country, telling girls her story and urging them not to make her mistakes. She makes every girl feel important and loved.

        “I think what she does is very important because she makes people listen. Teen girls need to be reminded sometimes of their great plan God has for us,” said Duesterberg.

        The decisions that teens make today will affect the rest of their lives. She reminds girls of what is truly important in their lives.

        “She is truly God’s working hands which is exactly what Mercy calls us to do,” said Duesterberg.

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