Joan | Glen Innes
“I was inspired by getting a job.
I’m just recently started last week, so I’m inspired about that pretty much. Well it’s concerning agriculture which I really enjoy, because I do a lot of gardening and I just help old people out that can’t do it for themselves, things like that. I love it very much. I had a bit of a sickness which I didn’t really enjoy, but I had to motivate myself to get myself back on track again. So, I enjoy my job, because it helps me to motivate myself a bit more, yeah it’s lovely.
I grew up in Auckland, I’m from up north really, but I was brought up in Auckland. I enjoy Auckland. I’ve been living in GI for mainly all my life, I’ve enjoyed the surroundings. The most important thing in my life is my children, my kids. I have a 16 year old child (son) now, he’s my youngest, and I’ve got other children, but they’re all grown up. I’m a grandmother of 10.
At the end of the day it is important that we do work because it not only motivates yourself but it helps you, too. It supports you in money things. You know, you can’t get things free for these days, Before I never used to, but now I do.
My tattoos are meaning my life, what I did. I had a rough life, stuff like that, I had no pen and paper, and I pretty much drew all over my body, because it was like my life. You know? I couldn’t really express myself in telling anyone, so I decided to tattoo myself, thanks to my friends of course. One tattoo grew in to another one and another one, and then, yes that’s what happened. I had a tattoo done of my son, which is on my neck, and I thought, you know, it’s like art to me anyway. It’s like art, and I’ve got my Māori iwi on the other side.
I didn’t really have much of an education when I was growing up really, I was pretty much neglected all my life. I got tossed from pillar to pillar, going into foster homes and then into girls homes, and stuff like that, and it pretty much took all my life away. Then I guess I got mixed up with the wrong people but as I started getting a bit older it sort of made me realise that life is really important, because I did try to take my life one part there, which was quite sad.
I knew I would have been leaving my children and my grandchildren. So, you know there’s always hope, I realised that. When I was 10 years old I was pretty much abused and stuff like that, you know? It’s a little bit hard for me to explain myself really, it’s hard for me to express my feelings to people.”
