Member Mondays: Liberty Schauf

With our new Member Mondays format, contributors are encouraged to share a little about themselves while writing in the style of their favorite literary genre. Please let us know what you think of this new format in the comments below.

Jo, Liberty, Pete

Once upon a time, a baby was born in the Lonestar State. She was the first born of a loving couple who knew she could do anything. So with big dreams and hope in their hearts they named her Liberty. Her father said, “It’s the perfect name for the future leader of America.”

As Liberty grew, so did her curiosity and fearlessness. She loved asking questions, reading, and trying new things. She had an active imagination and was active outdoors, but as Liberty’s love for the outdoors grew so did her injuries. Unbeknownst to the family, an evil genetic fairy had cast a ligament curse on the beloved girl. Liberty found herself constantly spraining and dislocating parts of her body, and the injuries would not heal. She went to the emergency room so often, nurses greeted her by name. Her mother joked that she should glow in the dark from all the X-rays.

But Liberty continued to be active. She lived her life the way she wanted and dealt with the injuries as they came. In high school, she played fast-pitched softball, joined the drama club, and wrote for the school newspaper. In college, despite a devastating ankle injury that left her in a wheel chair for three months, and several shoulder dislocations, Liberty worked three jobs to earn a bachelor’s degree in TV News from Texas State University. She didn’t stop there though. The fearless girl had grown into a bold woman who continued to try new things like skydiving and theatre.

Unfortunately, the family had drawn the attention of a ruthless witch who cursed Liberty’s father. He became very ill with cancer, and after his death the witch went after Liberty’s dog and mother too. Her golden retriever wasn’t able to fight the curse, but her mother blessedly overcame it.

Undeterred, Liberty moved to the magical land of New York City to pursue her dreams. But the vicious fairy followed her there, and Liberty had to have another ankle surgery that required time in a wheel chair, a knee surgery, and gall bladder removal surgery. She learned that there is no way to escape or destroy the fairy, but she fights against it regardless.

In between the surgeries, physical therapy, and the pain Liberty continued to learn new things like scuba diving, ukulele, Irish Step Dancing and crochet. She cultivated her love of travel by visiting, Switzerland, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Honduras and Hawaii.

Want to learn more about other WNBA-NYC members? Check out Audrey Webster’s post from last month!

Want to contribute your own Member Monday post? Submit your story to blog@wnba-nyc.com.