Aprille - This is Aotearoa

Aprille | Dunedin Central, Otago

“The last time that I felt proud was probably yesterday when we finished all our assessments, and I felt proud for all of my colleagues that we all passed together, and we made it through the stress, and it really paid off with our hard work.

I’ve been studying at NZST, New Zealand School of Tourism. I’m doing a flight attendant course. It goes for 16 weeks, and of course, due to Covid-19, we did all our assessments in one go.

It’s very new, but it feels really good at the same time, because everyone is just friendly and you meet a lot of people, and with the tourism industry, people come and go, but the memories stay the same, or they will remain the same. It’s just nice to have something to look back to, in the future, if that makes sense.

After covid, it’s hard to speak for everyone, but for me personally, I have a lot of faith in our community, and I know that it’s only temporary, so there may be some job losses, but again, it’s not the end of the world, because it’s just temporary, and it’s not easy to apply for jobs, but it’s not hard to try, at the same time.

My only message is just to have faith in yourself, and just remember that you work hard to get to where you are now, and it’s just a pandemic. It’s only temporary. So, you will get there. Just have patience and have faith.

I was born in the Philippines, and I grew up there for a bit, and I moved here when I was 11 years old, and I’m now 20. I don’t know where my future is going to be, but I know that it’s there, and I know that I’m going to be successful, some day.

Most important thing for me is probably my family, my family and friends, but especially my family, because without all of their sacrifices, for me and my brother, we wouldn’t be here by now. I wouldn’t be having this life, and I would consider myself to be one of the richest people, because of my parents’ sacrifices, because I have something that a lot of people don’t have, and that’s why I value my family so much, because they still have a lot of things to teach me.”

What, if anything, have you done differently after visiting this site?

Malachi

Malachi

Malachi | Māngere, Auckland - "One of my mates, he’s a tough man, but he came up to me one time and he spoke his heart, and I felt real proud of that."
Sam

Sam

Sam | Whangārei, Northland - "So, people who are homeless, that come in, I appreciate just seeing them there, and just listening to what they say. They’ve got bad habits and I’ve got bad habits, but hey, meet them halfway and help them."
Shawnee

Shawnee

Shawnee | Johnsonville, Wellington- "What I’m proud of is that I’ve put her into kōhanga, and she’s been in kura since she’s been alive, and I’ve just surrounded her with te ao Māori, because that was something I didn’t have."
Te Aroha

Te Aroha

Te Aroha | Raumanga, Northland- "I’m so happy that our whānau had been put in places to keep warm, and they were allowed to come down and have their meals here, and I was really happy that the majority of them had a roof over their heads, during that time."
Jonathan

Jonathan

Jonathan | Wellington Central, Wellington - "One of the mottos of Parkour, is ‘self-improvement’ and that is what I have been doing. I have a resilient life and another motto is ‘being strong to be useful’ and I hope to obtain a good amount of possible abilities to be helpful to people that may need me."
Danie

Danie

Danie | Leith Valley, Otago - "I think I’ve created a quality of life, instead of quantity. I’m not quite at the proud stage, but I acknowledge the work I’ve done, and I appreciate so much all the knowledge that I’ve got."
Dean

Dean

Dean | Blueskin Bay, Otago - "Don’t underestimate the ability of people to solve their own problems, especially young people. I think sometimes giving them their own space to learn to make mistakes and learn from mistakes, have fears, have anxieties, but also learn to overcome them and build on their own strength and their own abilities - I think it reminded me that they’re a lot more capable than we sometimes probably think they are."
Lance

Lance

Lance | Whangārei, Northland - "Treat one another with kindness. It’s the best medicine. Absolutely. Kindness isn’t the new cool. It’s always been cool."
Chyna-Maree

Chyna-Maree

Chyna-Maree | Johnsonville, Wellington - "We had a kapa haka competition, and I had the privilege of leading a senior group. It was not easy, and I think the hardest part was trying to write songs, lead and tutor at the time, but that’s why I’m pretty proud of myself for doing that."
Rex

Rex

Rex | Whangārei, Northland - "There’s nothing like holding your own, it just wakes you up. Makes you grow up fast, because everything reflects from me to my children to my grandchildren. So, I’ve got to start doing it right, and that’s a real proud moment to flip your life over for the good."

Aprille | Dunedin Central, Otago

“The last time that I felt proud was probably yesterday when we finished all our assessments, and I felt proud for all of my colleagues that we all passed together, and we made it through the stress, and it really paid off with our hard work.

What, if anything, have you done differently after visiting this site?

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