Princess | Glen Innes

“I’m Nikita, but everyone calls me Princess. I’m from GI, Glen Innes. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was walking through Papakura train station. There was this little homeless kid that looked about the age of 12-15.

I was with a couple of friends, so I had spare change on me, so I gave the homeless kid $50 to go get him some food and that. He was really pleased with himself and happy that he got some money.

Because recently one of my cousins, one of my family members got kicked out of her house, and so she was living on the streets for about a good two-and-a-half months. So we kindly decided to share some food, some money to those people, to help her encourage herself to get better, and stuff like that. 

I grew up in Auckland. I grew in the beautiful Glen Innes. My whole life I was born and raised there. I’m 17. You’s all may think I’m like 12, but no, I’m actually 17. What’s really important to me is family. I’ve grown up as a bad teenager. I used to run away, and stuff like that, but as I was growing up, I knew family, you can’t push family away. You can have friends and that, but your friends won’t be there, as your family. So, one important thing is family towards me.

So I was a very bad child. I used to run away at the age of 15. Used to go out, smoke weed, drink alcohol with best friends that weren’t my best friends. They were using me, but as I got to the age where I am today, I am grateful that my family had supported me through what I’d been through. If it wasn’t for my family, then I would be in Youth Jus, or a YJ, Youth Justice, but if it wasn’t for my family, I wouldn’t be here today.”