JOR 221 Project 6
Multi-Media Reporting
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As I walked into a room to meet Lehigh for our late night interview, little did I know I was about to walk in on a full blown Pokémon tournament. Names and terms that I had never heard of were being thrown around along with colorful cards and glossy marbles. I felt like I was in some underground poker tournament except instead of Kings, Queens and Jacks there were Mews, and Pikachus.
I finally understood the allure. These players don’t have money on the table, they have a lot more a stake. They don bright Charizard belts and dragon clad beanies and show up like warriors ready to win or lose.“There’s good days and bad days,” explained one of Lehigh’s friends and opponents with her eyes moving, fixed on the table as she carefully placed her cards.
It wasn’t long before I understood the piece of plastic called a badge isn’t what they play for at all. They play for the rush of the game, the much earned victory dance, and for the chance of a small sweet taste of fame at the end of a day drained by reality. Kim explained, “I put myself in the roll of the trainer. I immerse myself in that world.”
For Kim Lehigh her passion for the world of Pokemon took an unexpected turn when sparks of love began to fly between her and her new adversary, Mike Canton. This romance began with rivalry, burst into a love connection and currently consists of a healthy balance of the two.
“He says the stupidest pickup lines,” Kim told me rolling her eyes.
I asked what his best is and Kim replied in a honky tonk accent, “are you from Tennessee? Cuz your the only ten I see.”
They began dating officially this past New Year’s when Mike asked Kim out in a haze of fireworks and champagne. They’ve have been inseparable ever since, except maybe after a heated Pokémon match.
Although gaming is a big part of Kim's life, she has turned her fascination with reading into a career priority and is currently studying at the University of Rhode Island.
Kim Lehigh is headed full throttle into the world of fantasy writing and it’s only a matter of time before she’ll be creating intricate worlds for children, teens and even adults to escape to. For a girl who delves into the world of fantasy, her dreams seem just on the cusp of becoming reality.
“It takes me away from life and everyday stress and allows me to be free”
From Fantasy to Reality: Kim Lehigh
By Victoria Seligman
KINGSTON, R.I- Have you heard the name Kim Lehigh? Maybe not yet, but pretty soon that name will be on every best selling fantasy and fiction novel in the country.
Leigh was raised in rural Johnston, Rhode Island and at the young age of six began reading anything she could get her tiny hands on. Leigh grew up on Dr. Seuss and was on to thousand pagers by the age of twelve. At that point reading was no longer a hobby for Leigh, it was a necessity.
Irked by the monotony of school, Leigh sought solace in the vast worlds of J.K Rowling and J. R. R, Tolkien.
“It takes me away from life and everyday stress and allows me to be free”
While some kids got their phones taken away during class, Lehigh got her books taken away. A simple interest quickly became an obsession for Leheigh and she’s yet to give in and put the book down.
“I’d be sailing on the ocean, or riding a horse”
Fiction and fantasy are redefined by the way Kim vividly experiences what she’s reading. “When I am reading,” she said in an excited whisper, “I don’t see the ceiling, or the floor, or this chair. I’m in an entirely different world." However, the world of the fantasy novel isn’t the only alternate reality Lehigh escapes to in order to keep her life interesting.
Credit: Victoria Seligman
