Cleo Lipski

"It's like for the first time in my life, I'm doing something for me. Not for my siblings, not for the satisfaction of my mother, but for me. And I'm not going to let you come along and tell me that I can't do this, because I've been waiting my entire life for this moment. Just let me be me for once. Please."

— Cleo to Miller

Cleo Giselle Washington is a one of the main protagonists in Life: The Learning Experience. She is portrayed by Bianca A Santos.

Character
Cleo Lipski is the second eldest child in the Lipski clan, as well as being the eldest daughter, although, she has an older half sister on her father's side of the family. She was born to Georgina Lipski and Nash Buchanan, who met after Georgina and her son, Hunter, moved to Lourdes Creek. Cleo had grown most of her life, not knowing who her father was, although as he was her neighbour, he constantly interacted with her.

From when she was eight years old, Cleo was a victim of sexual abuse. Nate Dota, her mother's boyfriend at the time, abused Cleo in this manner, an act that Georgina was unaware of. Hunter once saw what Nate did to Cleo and informed his mother, although of course, she didn't believe him. After one day seeing it for herself, Georgina chose to ignore it considering she thought she saw it wrong, and didn't want to believe it. It wasn't until the second time when Georgina believed what Hunter had been telling her and kicked Nate out of the house. Since the event, Cleo has been scarred by what happened, keeping her distance from people, both physically and emotionally.

Personality
Throughout the beginning of the series, Cleo is an introvert, best knwon for being helpful to others. Throughout high school, she is seen as a shy nerd, often being made fun of for her looks and manner in classes. She often bottles up her emotions over a long period of time and let's it all out at once on one person, which often puts a dent in her relationship with them.

Cleo is highly intelligent, graduating high school with a 4.0, and completing college topping all of her classes. She is very creative, being an extremely talented artist and photographer.

Cleo always puts others before herself. For example, Georgina wants her to be successful in life, so Cleo studies hard to become a doctor, which in Georgina's eyes is being successful. She forgets about what she wants to be, which is an artist with her own art gallery, just to please her mother with something that will take up the rest of her life. Cleo hates to disappoint people, and will do anything to stay on their good side and make them happy.

When attending college, Cleo meets Brodie. He teaches her that she shouldn't forget about her wants and needs, and that everything doesn't have to be as others want it to be. Cleo then becomes more outgoing, but after time, neglects the needs of others. She eventually learns to have a good balance and be an all-rounded good person.

Background
Cleo grew up in a large household, having five brothers and sisters. From a young age, she began helping out her family with their money situation, as the first nine years of her life, her mother had spent money she earnt on date nights and presents for whoever she was dating at the time. Cleo walked dogs, tutored and was a babysitter for several years, from the age of seven to when she was seventeen and graduated high school. Cleo would act as a mother to her siblings, looking after them when they had nightmares, cooking and taking them to school. Her and Hunter were like parent figures with the absence of their own.

Family
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Romances
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Friends
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