Jan | Howick

“I guess the question that you’re asking is about visible differences, but any person that I deal with is different in some form or another, with older people and younger people, and different ethnicities and different mobility issues, and lifestyle.

I was at a meeting on Wednesday and one of the people in the meeting has a chronic health issue, and just acknowledging that she could not do the work that was required to do in the committee, because she had a health issue that was unresolvable for her at that time. So, it’s understanding that limitation on someone’s experience in their life, and not being able to perform at the level that they would want to, in order to fulfil their obligation.

It teached me humility more than anything, that my life is my life, and it’s not their life, and there can be commonalities and differences that build respect. 

I was born in Wairoa and grew up in Wellington and Hawke’s Bay, moved to Auckland 20 years ago. Best thing we ever did. What do I value in life? Probably integrity and a sense of belonging, a sense of belongingness. 

I went through Queen Street one day this week, and I was just thrilled with our city. Just the vibrancy and the relaxedness. There was a big cruise ship in town, so there were lots of different languages around, and different people’s experiences of where they are, and I really, really enjoy it.”