Tell It Like Bec M!
I would also like to thank
everyone who spent the time putting pen to paper to write some special words
about me.
~Rebecca Meyer~
Physical
Description of Me
8
Character
Description of Me
9
My Earliest
Memories
12
Pre-school
14
Primary
School Days
14
High School
24
My Pets
34
What People
Think Of Me
40
My Future
49
Travel
52
Family Tree
59
Time Line
61
Philip and
Kim Meyer (Father and Mother)
Physical
Description of Me
When I was born
When I was
born I was 48 cm long, I weighed 2,950 grams and my head circumference was 33
cm.
When I was 18 months
When I was 18
months old I weighed 11.2 kg and I was 79 cm in length.
Now
I am average
height around 161cm tall and have darkish straight brown hair. My eyes are
also a deep brown. My skin is slightly olive coloured (especially in the
summer).
Hobbies
One of my
favourite hobbies is to play sport. I also like watching TV (as most
people my age do) and playing Xbox with my friends.
I also love
the beach and particularly catching the waves by bodysurfing or bogie-boarding.
I really want to learn to surf. Although I don’t surf now I hope to in the
future.
I like
hanging out with my friends and going to the movies.
I like soccer
– but I’m not very good at it.
I consider
myself to have a friendly personality and although a bit rough around the edges.
Generally I’m an enjoyable person to be around.
Likes
Dislikes
Friends
Connie,
Melody, Sam O, Sam H, Druvinka, Sophie, Brejene, Mikaela, Amy, Alex P, Alex A,
Ellen S, Samantha R, April F, Larissa, MJ (Margot Jean), Olivia, Ellen K
Nicknames
Bec, Beccy,
Beckham, B
I was born on
One of my
earliest memories would probably be when on our way to
I also
remember going to playgroup. I remember telling people my real name was
“Jasmine”. One day I made a Mickey Mouse magnet and I still have it on my
fridge.
I also went
to dance school with three of my best friends, Stephanie Bailey, Sophie Ingleton
and Brejene Reiher.
I remember at
one of our concerts I had to wear a tiny bright yellow triangle swimsuit when I
was dancing to “Itsy-Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Pokka Dot Bikini”.
Once when I
was wearing that same costume into my pool a blue-tongue lizard went into our
house. Mum panicked and I had to go inside to pull it out from under the
lounge.
I still own
that swimming costume but NO, I do NOT wear it!
I also
remember going to the hospital for a playgroup excursion. How FUN – Not –
Well we though it was at the time only because we got a free magnet.
When my
sister started kindergarten I remember I always walked her to school. She
wouldn’t go on her own. Sometimes I would wear one of the school dresses
because I really wanted to start school early.
Nicole’s
teacher was really nice and let me stay in their classroom and do work with
them. I made badges and other cool things.
One
day Nicole and I were asked to be her flower girls at her wedding. It was
a lot of fun. We had to go to practices and we had our hair curled.
We also had to go to multiple dress fittings.
The big day
came and we were given a teddy bear each which we had to pose with in many
photos. The problem was that the little boy who was to be the ring bearer
bailed out so Nicole and I also had to carry the rings down the aisle while also
holding our flowers.
After the
wedding was a big reception. That was fun. We danced and ate nice
food and met lots of people. Oh, and what was really cool was one of the
groomsmen, was David, one of “The Umbilical Brothers”. I fell asleep on
his lap. I had a very good sleep that night.
I
went to pre-school at
At pre-school
I had many good friends including Sophie Ingleton, Samantha Roberts, Alice Hall,
Sophie Nakagema, Stephanie Bailey and many more. I remember this one boy who
always smelt like egg.
At the
Christmas Carols Night we sang the wiggles on our playground! It was fun.
1997
- I started Kindergarten
and had one of the nicest teachers I have ever had. Her name was Mrs Skinner.
Our class was called Sugar Gums. I was in a class with many people including
Olivia McDonald, Vanessa Bull and Sarah Ellem.
I remember my
first excursion; we went to the
I
also remember our first assembly item we did the story of the Paper Bag
Princess. I was a dancer/princess.
In Kindy we
also had a cardboard box that we used to send letters to one another through, it
was called the ‘Letterbox”. We thought it was a fabulous idea and used it every
day. I got and sent lots of letters. Mrs Skinner and I used to write to each
other even when we were on holidays.
Also in Kindy
we used to do dancing. I remember always having to be a partner with boys and
having to wipe my hands nearly every 20-30 seconds. When it was Grandparents Day
we had to dance for them, we danced to the song BINGO.
We had class
pets back in those days and our class pets were budgies. They were called
Captain and Silver. We used to get so excited on Fridays as one of us was picked
to take them home.
When I was in
kindergarten I went to
Before we
left to go overseas I made three wishes. One was to meet the Queen, the next was
to go up the
We went to
Mum and Dad
surprised me by taking me to
My
next surprise was when we went back to
We had by
this time been away for 6 weeks and Olivia (my friend) was missing me so much
she asked her mum every day when I was coming home.
I didn’t want
to leave Kindy but I had to
L.
1998 -
In Year One I was in a 1 / 2 class
called “Banksia”, my teacher was Mrs Saunders. I was her Flower Girl her when I
was four. That year I was in a class with Liv again. We did lots of arts and
craft. We made pet rocks and a teddy bear out of dough and we pasted it onto a
piece of wood. It still hangs on the wall in our kitchen.
Also that
year we studied the Solar System. I learnt their names from smallest to
largest and closest to furthest to the sun. We covered the classroom with black
plastic, even the floor and made the solar system out of paper machete.
This
year we entered Wakakirri, a dance competition between schools. Our dance was
about the Solar System being born and the aliens that lived on the planets. We
practised our dance in class and made our outfits by tie dyeing t-shirts and
decorating them with recycled items. I was an alien. We practised many, many
times and our performance won three awards. A bonus on the night was that I was
one of three students chosen to accept the awards and be interviewed on stage.
It was a really late night – but it was fun.
Also in Year
1 I was class captain at school and, at Swim Club, I was age champion.
1999 –
In Year 2 I was in a class with some Kindies. Our class was called K2D as
our teachers name was Mrs Dyer. She was very nice. We used to have a star
chart and if you received five stars as rewards you got to choose a prize from
the prize box.
We would read
to the Kindies and I was lucky enough to read to Milly Mead. We have stayed good
friends since then.
In Year 2 I
was elected to the School Representative Council (SRC). I also received
the High Academic Award at Presentation Night.
2000 –
What a start to the new millennium; we had a two week holiday in
I started
Year 3 and my teachers name was Miss Gibson. O
I
joined the band at school and started playing the Trumpet.
Another big
bonus this year was flying to New Zealand Business Class in FIRST class seats.
The Olympic
Games were on in
2001 –
And what another great start to this year; we had a two week holiday in
I started
Year 4 and this was a different type of school year. My teacher, Mrs Watkins,
was a really great teacher but she wasn’t even there for a whole term.
When we heard the news that she was leaving we were all extremely upset.
Most of the girls cried including me. We had a substitute teacher for the
rest of the year, Ms Bauer.
This year I
was elected Class Captain and was Age Swimming Champion at School and at Epping
Eastwood Swim Club.
We were
runners-up in the Hills District Netball Competition and I ran in the
City-to-Surf with the school team. I also completed my first Tryathlon.
In the third
term school holidays went spent two weeks in the Outback visiting Uluru,
2002 –
We started the year with a holiday in Copacabana on the Central Coast of NSW.
What an adventure. It was on this holiday I was caught in a rip for the
first, and hopefully last, time in my life.
In Year 5 Mrs
Seebacher was my teacher. She was a great teacher and particularly keen on
Maths.
I was a
member of the School Debating team that won the District Competition. My
Dad was the coach.
For a Year
Camp we went to
One the first
day of the Camp we went to Parliament House,
One the
second day we went to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and had heaps of
fun. We walked around in a guided tour then went into the Fun Room.
It had wheelchair basketball, we got to go on a mini climbing wall and one of
the funniest things was to go on the rowing machines. We had an actual
race, Boys versus Girls, and amazingly the Girls won.
We then went
to the shop and bought gifts and other things before going to the High Court. We
also went to Questacon.
I completed
two Weetbix Tryathlons this year and got to meet Brett Lee.
At the end of
Year 5, I was selected to stand for a Leadership position at school. After we
had made our speeches the voting took place and I was elected School Vice
Captain.
This year we
had plenty of holidays too. We went to the Gold Coast in April,
2003
– It was nice to have a
holiday at home to start 2003 because in April we headed to
We also went
skiing at Thredbo in July and back to Bogan Gate in October. Oh, and there
was the short one week cruise on a beautiful 66’ boat around the Whitsundays
before starting back to my last term of Primary School.
Year 6 was
the best year of my school life! I had a fabulous teacher, Mr Trevena or Mr Trev
as we called him, and I was in a really good class with most of my friends.
I went to
Leadership Camp as I was School Vice Captain. I had heaps of fun there and meet
some really nice people from Hillside Primary. I later caught up with them at a
reunion were we got to go bowling and miss a day of school..
For our camp
we went to
Our teacher
for our cabins always woke us up by singing a song, and she didn’t have the best
singing voice.
I also went
to debating Camp at Collaroy. This was a lot of fun and I got to meet plenty of
people. We performed many debates and also got to watch the leaders debate.
One
of the most exciting things that happened this year was when I won the Apex Club
Greater Sydney Districtl Public Speaking Competition. I then went on to the next
level and got Runner Up.
To raise some
money for a present to the school we had a Bazaar Day. Our stall was balloon
shaving and sponge throwing. At the end our group had a shaving cream fight.
For
our parting gift to the school, Mum and some other parents worked on recreating
a 5 metre mosaic. All Year 6 got to work on it and it now sits in our hall. We
also all got to make our own mosaic to keep as a memory. I got my picture in the
paper in front of the mosaic.
To finish of
the year, I got the Citizenship Award at Presentation Day.
The last few
days we all realised that it was the end of Primary School so we had lots of
fun. On the second day of the last week I got my ears pierced, I was so excited.
The next night was our Year 6 Farewell Dinner. It was heaps of fun. We ate,
talked and danced. The dancing was the best part. We were all crying at the end
when they put on the song called “Friends Forever”.
The
next day we were half happy half sad. I was going to a new place but was also
leaving my best friends behind. We sat at lunchtime and talked about all our
embarrassing and sad moments. A lot of us were crying even the boys! We had a
special crying room where you went if you got upset in class. My last moment of
my primary years was spent walking under a guard of honour all the way to the
gates. They rang the bell for the last time and then we partied.
I
was full of mixed feelings about the fact that I was starting high school. I was
happy as I would make new friends and be able to explore new alley ways however
I was a bit daunted at the fact that I was going to walk around – what I thought
was a huge school – to find my classrooms. I was also anxious but excited at the
thought of catching the train to and from school and to whether I would get
stuck somewhere. Well I haven’t been stuck somewhere yet but I have had to wait
an hour at a train station before the train came, which was quite boring.
On the first
day of high school I didn’t feel much of a change as we weren’t having any
lessons, but when the periods actually started I was a bit confused. I have
gotten lost many times but once I thought I was having French when I actually
was having Design and Technology. I think now that I have settled in, that high
school really isn’t that bigger step in life that I thought it would be.
I have made
many new friends, gotten to majority of my classes on time, remembered all my
teachers’ names and had lots of fun!
My Pets
I have had pets all of my life and have been interested in many different forms of animals, even those that aren’t that popular with most people.
My first pet
show was when I was three years old. My sister came first with her rabbit “Pinky”,
and typical of me, I entered with tadpoles and received a special award for the
most unusual pet.
When
I was four I had a rabbit that I named “Sooty”. Obviously from the name he was
black. At that time Nicole also had a rabbit. He was a white rabbit with
pink eyes. Unfortunately he died, but then Nicole got another one she called
“Beauty”. She was white with a few small patches of black on her face. Beauty
had 3 babies. We called them Socks, Stripe and Boots. We became quite attached
to them and when mum told us the news that we had to sell them to the Pet Shop
we were devastated.
I also had
many fish. When I was four I went down to our neighbour’s house with my sister
and we would try and catch goldfish. If we caught some “Mac” would let us keep
them. Unfortunately Mac died late last year
L.
I have also
had many guppies. My first guppies were given to me by my Uncle Stephen. I named
them Petr and Eva after Petr and Eva from our
We have also
had budgies. I remember when we went to the shop and got our first one. It was
bribery from Mum to get Nicole to colour in at school.
A while later
I got my first budgie. Nicole’s ones name was Mozart Meyer and mines name was
Mixy Meyer. Well Mixy died and only Mozart was left … that is until a cockatiel
flew into our house. We thought that it was a he but when she started
laying eggs we rethought that assumption. Her name is Spike.
One
day mum was out the front and obviously saw something, she called for me to come
out so I did. What I saw was a little dove that was being chased by a Minor
bird. She flew down onto our porch and we caught her. We looked after her.
Some months
later our next door neighbours gave us a male dove. They bred and she laid an
egg. It hatched and grew up very quickly. It turned out to be a male
and we named it “Donald” because he looked like a duck when he hatched.
Since then we’ve had five baby doves hatch out.
I
also have a tortoise. We couldn’t pick his name so we chose two names.
But the main
animals I have had throughout my life has been chickens. My first chicken I ever
had was a white chicken who’s name was “Basil”. She was a really great chicken.
I remember one time when I was feeding the chickens and my 
sister
came outside and up to the chicken coup. While I was locking the door she said
that I had given them too much and that they would die because of it. Well I
cried all the way to the house and I was so sorry. After my mum had calmed me
down I was told that they would be just fine and would have a full stomach that
night. How was I to know this type of information? Well I was fine after that,
but I was always sure, after that little incident never to give the chickens
more than 2 cups of food.
Another
experience was when Nicole and I were playing in the backyard I was jumping on
the trampoline and the chickens were out. The rooster obviously thought that we
were terrorising the hens and he came into action. He first chased Nicole
around, looking awfully angry and making high pitched sounds. Then he came for
me. We were both extremely scared of the rooster and came screaming down to the
safety of the wire door and mum. Well that was an episode of my life I shall not
forget. And neither is this one.
One day when
we – that is mum and I – were walking down to school Mum said to me “Can you
hear that baby bird cheeping?” It was then I pulled out a baby chicken
from my pocket saying “No Mum – it’s just my chicken”.
After that
there were many other situations just like that. For example, when I
smuggled my chicken on a trip to the supermarket which Mum was not impressed at
all. After this it was like living in the Army, my pockets were thoroughly
checked before I was allowed to leave the house.
My faithful
pet is my dog Moet. It was a big surprise when we got Moet as we thought Mum
wanted a golden Retreiver. We had some friends with puppies and we used to go
over often to see them – I even got to see one of them being born.
One day after
dancing Nicole and I were told to stay with my Pop. Mum and Dad came back with a
puppy in their hands. I just thought that we were having a look at the puppy as
the owners came too, but we were actually going to keep her. Her original name
was Splash but we didn’t like that so we call her Moesha, Moet for short. Moet
gets very jealous of our other animals especially Spike and the chickens. She is
a smart and beautiful dog who is a wonderful friend.
Chapter 4
Rebecca (Bec)
was born at 5.57 on a Sunday afternoon – as her father said “just in time for
the
Bec has
always been a lover of animals, of which we have collected many over the years.
When she was young she would always have something alive in her pocket whether
it be a snail, chicken or lizard. She always had interesting show and tell and I
think the teachers used to cringe when she requested special news, their first
question being “is it alive”.
Bec has
developed into a confident and friendly young lady. Always ready to have a chat
with anyone. She is good friend to have whether it be with her peers or
superiors. She loves any kind of sport and is always willing to give anything a
go. Whether it be indoor soccer, netball, swimming, Tryathlons, City to Surf,
tennis, debating or dancing.
Bec has
settled into High School life well and has made a great network of friends. I am
not sure what she will do in life, but I do know it will have to be working with
people or animals. I am very proud of her, and yes Bec we will have that day as
promised.
Kim Meyer (Mother)
From
memory it was a sunny Sunday afternoon working in the garden and I was inviting
Bec’s grandparents to stay for an early dinner. It was then that Kim told
me we’d be having a baby (Bec) for dinner.
There’s so
much I could say about Rebecca, Bec, Beckham. Her love for sport, friends,
movies, music, James Bond 007, chocolate and oh – did I mention sport. She
really loves sport.
Bec and I
spend quite a bit of time together at the local swim club. She really
impresses me with her ability to mix very well with people of all ages.
Rebecca is
confident in tough situations like debating competitions or public speaking or
when we were caught in a rip. When in the rip she didn’t panic and she
stayed focussed while we waited to be rescued.
The other
thing I’d like to say about Bec is her support to the family when I’m not
around. I’m away quite a bit with work commitments and Bec always steps up
to the tough jobs, the jobs no one else in the house wants to do. Like
removing dead animals from the yard or getting birds out of the house.
Bec impresses
me as a confident and capable young lady growing more confident and capable
every day. She’s passionate about her sport and always gives her best.
She can be a real cheeky character at times but mostly she makes me a very proud
and happy father.
Phil Meyer (Father)
Simply,
I love her, I met Rebecca two years ago and despite our age difference we became
really good friends. I admire her approach to sport and other activities because
she always wants to be the best she can be…..and she usually is. She is very
active and a good mate to have fun with. Whenever she thinks about doing
something funny, she always has little stars in her eyes and it is obvious that
within a minute everyone around her will be laughing (or crying).
She also helped me a lot with my English and was really patient when explaining various things I wanted to know. I always have a good feeling whenever we talk to each other and I would be glad to see her again.
“Unkie”
Rebecca has
been a valued student at
Whilst
Rebecca has achieved well academically, she has also sought to achieve in the
sporting and arts fields and has held leadership positions within the school.
Rebecca has
evolved herself in all aspects of school life with great enthusiasm and a great
sense of school pride. Her achievements have been numerous and she has shown
interest in a wide variety of school programs and activities.
Rebecca is a
delightful girl with a warm and enthusiastic personality. She will achieve
success in her future endeavours and will be a great asset in her future school.
Julie Hanley
Principal
Rebecca came into our lives on
We find her a very caring girl, always aware of family commitments, and most aware of the needs of older people. She has a great fondness of all animals. Always interested in sport and debating for her school (netball, swimming, and athletics with distinction).
We do not know what Rebecca will choose to do with her life when she leaves school but what ever she does she will do it well and with a smile. We are very proud grandparents.
Bob and Shirley Riddell
Grandparents
When
Rebecca was born I was 3 years old. I’m not sure if I actually knew what
was happening or what was ahead of me. Since then Bec has changed heaps.
I think she has become a lot more like me. As all sisters, we have our own
opinions and therefore having arguments about stupid things – but inside she
knows I love her.
I think that she tackles problems pretty well and tries hard to keep peace in all she does. She also puts a lot of effort into everything she does – when she puts her mind to it. I’m proud to have her as my sister.
Nicole Meyer (sister)
The Rotary Club of Epping conducts a
Year 5 Debating Competition between the six Primary Schools in Epping and in my
position as coordinator Rebecca first came to my notice as second speaker for
the
The first time I heard Rebecca speak with her clear diction, her self confidence and her bright and positive personality I formed the opinion that she would represent her school in a Scholarship the Rotary Club conducts for Year 6 students. This she did last year and although she did not win she was the closest of runners up we have had in seventeen years of competition. In addition Rebecca received the Rotary
Club’s Citizenship Award at her school’s 2003 Presentation Day.
The members of the Rotary Club of Epping are proud of Rebecca and her achievements and will follow her progress with interest.
Roy Sadler O.A.M
Well I’m not
to sure what I want to be but I think I would like to be a designer of some sort
whether it be fashion, houses or furniture.
Another thing
I would like to do is go to
If none of
this happens I will travel the world and go to places like
Travel
1992 - 5 ½ months
old -
Rotorua –
nearly got eaten by a 6 month old lion cub.
1997 - 6 years old
-
Peaks and
Lakes District
Went to the
place with the longest name—Laanfairpggogogoch for short.
1998— 6 years old —Thredbo
First ski
lessons—skied on my first day
1999— 7 years—Thredbo
Skied every
day
1999—8 years old —
Phuket—good,
cheap shopping and rode the Elephants
2000— 8 years old —
Saw the most
lovely beaches and tried to snorkel!
2000— 8 years old
—New
Franz Joseph
Glacier
Wanaka
Queenstown–
jet boating
Te Anau and
Milford Sound—Saw a calf being half born. The owners couldn’t get it fully out
as it’s head had been wedged into the mothers hips. Both died unfortunately.
Akaroa—Dolphin
watching
2000—8 years—Thredbo
Mum fell and
tore all her ligaments and cartilages and Dad hurt his back badly. They both had
to go into surgery when we came home. Did my first black diamond(hardest runs)
2001— 9 years—
Oahu– USS
Arizona Memorial, shopping and went surfing on
2001 – 9 years –
Burpengary,
Eumundi, Noosa Heads- caught up with grandparents
2001 – 10 years old
– Outback
Ayers Rock,
2002 – 10 years –
Gold Coast
Stayed at
Sancturary Cove and begged mum and dad to take me to Dreamworld-Went on the
waterslides.
2002 – 10 years –
2002 – 11 years –
Gold Coast
The beach had
fun in the surf.
2002 – 11 years –
Victoria and NSW
Melbourne,
Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca, Narrandra, Parkes, Bogan Gate, Dubbo and
Wellington-played tennis and saw hyenas.
2003 – 11 years –
Japan
2003 – 11 years –
Thredbo
skiing-I
moved up a grade
2003 – 12 years –
Bogan Gate followed by the Whitsundays
Hamilton
Island, Whitehaven, Stonehaven, Hook Island, Turtle Bay-It was a great holiday
apart from feeling slightly seasick from the waves rocking the boat!
2004 – 12 years –
Melbourne, La
Trobe, Sea horse farm, Lavender Farm, St Helens, Coles Bay, Wineglass Bay,
Tasman Peninsula, Port Arthur, Hobart and the Cadbury Factory, Bruny Island for
white wallabies and penguins, Ross, Deloraine, Cradle Mountain, Strahan, Stanley
and the Nut and more penguins, Penguin, Devonport and the Spirit of Tasmania III
straight back to Sydney. Got to watch lots of movies on the boat
