Trina – Auckland.
“My name is Trina. I probably call New Zealand my home more than where I was born.
I was born in the Cook Islands. I’m actually the oldest of all my cousins, so I spend a lot of time with the younger ones. I think [with] babies you’ve got to be really patient with them. As I was growing up, it’s definitely made me a bit more responsible. I help them with their school work and in turn they help me become a better person, help me relate to other people better. I think they keep my humility. They teach me what it’s like to, I don’t know, see the world better, to help them help me, and for them to help other people as well.
I was born in the Cook Islands. We actually moved here when I was still a baby. Obviously my mum was looking for more opportunities, especially work opportunities. So for [the] most part I have grown up in New Zealand. It’s nice. I do like it here. Growing up here was good for me. I wasn’t any different. I had a pretty normal childhood, I guess. Going into adult[hood] it’s been quite difficult here, in terms of renting and finding a job, but I guess that comes with growing up. Auckland’s great. I love it here.
I think one way to help with humanity in Auckland would be probably getting my family involved, and I know there’s a lot of homeless people in this city, and I think it would be great to maybe take my family down there and help out a little maybe buy pizzas or something, and I guess spend time with them to make their day a little bit better considering their circumstances, because I guess we all sometimes go through low parts in our life, and I think it’s good to always give back to people who need it.
My mother has I think seven siblings, and they’ve all got kids. It is quite huge. Even [the] extended family we’ve got, it’s quite big. I think it’s good, because, yes as we’ve all heard before, the children are our future, and if we instil good positive values in them now, they will definitely make a better impact as they grow older. It’s one thing that I hope I am instilling in my younger cousins and hope that they will become much better people once they get older.”
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