The Eggs Benedict at Rhodos Cafe in Courtenay makes Taija McLuckie happy.

So does skateboarding, her kids, her friends and the people she loves. She also admits to being a bit stubborn, but inquisitive, always wondering "why" things are the way they are, and why she has to do things a certain way.

"I'm the 'why kid'" she said, "which probably wasn't very favourable to me growing up.

"I got myself into a lot of trouble, but I was also very involved," she said. "I figure skated my whole life, competed on a provincial level, I had two parents who loved me, two sisters ... a younger brother. I think where my story differs, and what maybe contributed to saving my life is that I grew up in a white, middle-class family and I was wanted."

That rebellious streak, combined with a feeling of disp

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