Damien – Auckland
“I said happy birthday to one of my best friends in Scotland at the moment.
I grew up in Auckland. I went down to Wellington for a couple of years after I finished school and I’ve just been working and then I came back up here working. I’m into my music. I play guitar in a band. We’re called Blood Buffalo, and I do some painting. Mum is an art teacher, so I guess I’ve grown up always with artist influence. Not sure where the musical side came in, because none of my relatives are musical, but art’s a big thing in my family. It would be pretty boring world without art. I do a lot of art, so I guess that would free up a lot of my time. I use a lot of acrylics and a lot of water, like watery effects.
I’ve actually only recently broken up with my partner. So, I guess in a way, that’s a way to show me caring about myself. I learned that I should probably stop looking after other people, and focus more on myself. It was in a way an unhealthy relationship but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t hard to get out of it. It was, I still care very much for the person, so…
I’ll probably be starting off living on my own for a little while. Just being free and being able to do more of the things, having the time to do more of the things that I want to do myself, such as painting and playing music, and yeah just spending time for myself. I’m working in hospitality and I probably will be moving up the ladder in that and trying to work in the kitchen a lot more, and perhaps be a chef one day. For music I would like to do a lot more shows, especially out of town and, and overseas. Performing is great, but just the music itself is, well music is different to everyone. It gives a lot of different people different emotions. So it’s the one thing that I guess you can relate to always.
A lot of guys have insecurities about their masculinity, and they feel like they have to project that onto other people and call someone a fag or, or a girl for having long hair, even though that, that’s not the case. Oh, I shrug it off mostly. It can get to you sometimes, but you know, it’s just some, some random person not even in your life. So it’s not something to worry about.
It’s not always easier said than done, but some people are just that way. Well, as I said, it was only recent, so far I haven’t been able to take too many steps, but right now I’m actually just on my own to see my mum for a drink, so that’s one of them, I guess. I, I spend a lot of time with my mum. We’re quite close in the family. Otherwise I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, and keep working and save up to go overseas and do the things that I want to do.”
