Aafreen | Blockhouse Bay

“My name is Aafreen and I call Blockhouse Bay home, in Auckland. I think that would be when I was 11, and I first moved to New Zealand, because my family immigrated back in 2002. When I came to Lynfield College, I remember the uniform being completely different to what I’m used to, because I was used to quite a conservative uniform and I had to wear a skirt.

It was the first time I was wearing a skirt, and my legs were completely unshaven because that wasn’t something I would have thought about. When I was little I do remember almost getting bullied for it, until another girl stepped in going; well honestly, who else around here is willing to walk around with their legs unshaven, I’m not guessing not many people, she’s confident enough to do that, I don’t think I should be bullying her for it. I think that girl was my hero when I was little. So now I just feel comfortable walking out no matter what I look like, and I’m 29 now, so that’s a huge impact someone created when I was Like 12.

I was born in Mumbai, India and I grew up there and in New Zealand. I think what I value in life the most is just people going ahead and doing whatever they want. Sometimes, if you’re like me, what you want might change. I am a huge science nerd, and I still am. I went ahead and I graduated from Med school a year ago but in the process of doing that, I also did a lot of other things. So, I think I went out of my sphere when I went and qualified to participate in New Zealand’s Next Top Model in cycle two. That was when I was 20, and then a couple of years later I went ahead and participated in Femina Miss India, which was way out of my comfort zone, but I won, and it gave me the opportunity to travel around the world free as an ambassador. I think for someone like me, who’s always living in libraries, it’s kind of different to be up on stage, doing so-called ‘glamorous’ things. And the reason I believe in pursuing what you want, even if it’s a completely different thing, is because eventually it’s going to lead you to where you really want to be. Now I work as a doctor but also as a motivational speaker, and I’m looking forward to starting my own channel. So I think what I really believe in, is just going ahead and doing what you want, even if it’s not something that other people might think you’re good at because clearly, I think the world needs people that believe that they know what they’re good at. 

I think generosity is more important now than maybe ever before, simply because people are all fighting their own battles. They might seem super happy, super sorted, even successful, but everyone’s fighting a battle. Either, they have, difficult relationships at home, or I don’t know, your cat is in its final stages because it’s old, or maybe they’re having trouble with a workmate. People are always having issues, and they’re not always going to be telling you about it, because we don’t trust strangers like we once used to. It’s a breath of fresh air when you meet somebody that’s happy to completely open up to you, lend out a helping hand, give you that $2 that you’re short on when you’re standing at the supermarket queue, or you know, you have a bad day and you snap at them, and you’re like; oh you know what, you’re a stranger, you didn’t deserve that, I was angry because of something else and I snapped at you, and the stranger turns around and goes; actually that’s alright, you know, it happens. Luckily, we live in New Zealand and pretty much 90 per cent of kiwis are like that, just inherently. It’s not like that in the rest of the word. Definitely not. Unfortunately definitely not in India where I come from, and I can say this openly because I’m Indian and I love India and the people there, but they just don’t live in as open and as nice an environment. So, I remember being called a breath of fresh air by a couple of people, and I wasn’t even doing anything out of the ordinary. I was just doing what people in Auckland have done for me all my life.”