Angie | Papakura
“Wow, that’s a good question. How did I last make someone feel special?
Okay, yeah it’s important because it’s my son. So the things that I was doing for my son to make him feel special was, he’s having a tough time at school, so I like to do little things to make him feel good or make him feel better. So those things would be things like, his favourite breakfast is pancakes; maybe make him pancakes. Sometimes in the morning we’re a bit too busy to do that, getting to school and getting ready for work, et cetera, but when I know he needs a little bit of extra aroha, I’ll make the effort to make him some pancakes, and I’ll give him heaps of hugs, and I’ll tell him all the things that I love about him, and all the amazing talents he has, and how special he is to his, to me, to his dad, to his brother and to our wider whānau. Those are the kinds of things that I’ll do to make him feel special.
My home actually is Te Tai Rāwhiti, which is Ngāti Porou land. I grew up in South Auckland. We lived in Manurewa for a little bit, and then I lived in Drury and Ararimu with my whānau, went to Pukekohe. My mum and dad gave us a really good upbringing, and my, the values that I have I think were instilled through my mum and dad.
My dad had a really good work ethic, and my mum did her best to care for a really large family. I’m one of seven girls. So, work ethic’s a big thing for me, working hard, doing your best. Whānau; whānau is really important to me, being together, caring for each other, helping each other to be the best that we can be. I think a sense of achievement or a sense of trying to realise your potential is, is important, and I think those are the kinds of things that my mum and dad instilled in me when we were growing up, and I hope I can, I have, helped my children to have the same types of values.
I think it’s incredibly important. I think to recognise the mana of, of every individual, to recognise how special they are, and to recognise their whakapapa, to be able to acknowledge that, not just in what we’re saying, but in the way that we do things as well. So, it’s not about just telling people that they’re special, but also showing them that they’re special by the things that we do, by extending manaakitanga and aroha to people, and I think in this age, that’s becoming more and more important, because our society now has developed systems and processes where often we are isolated or individualised, and it is hard for us to connect. So I think it’s really important to be able to acknowledge each other and make each other feel special.”
