Bella | Wānaka, Otago

“I broke my elbow falling off my bike, which was fun and so I would say the people at work helped me a lot, which was very kind. But thinking of my friends and stuff, I guess going through the second year of uni was pretty tough, and I talked to family a lot, and wasn’t really sure that I was doing the right thing, and they helped me, and let me rant, and kind of got me through that time, which I’m really grateful for.

Everyone was there for me when I needed it, but I didn’t really expect it at the time. So, that was cool. I learned my strengths and weaknesses and I guess I am sometimes scared to ask for help, like with the lecturers and things like that, and so doing that felt really good, it felt like I was getting more confident. 

As you say, if you do like a kind gesture one day, that person might feel that they should do it to someone else, and so on and so on. I think it just improves everyone’s day. You never know what people are going through, and depending on the act, it can save some people’s lives, and stuff like that. So, it’s pretty awesome. Everyone should do it.

I graduated last year from university, and then came down to Wānaka. We have a family house, and so I just decided to go into retail and thought I would do it in the outdoor industry, which is what I’m passionate about, getting outside, riding bikes, running and doing all that fun stuff, and just enjoying my time with people that I’m working with. 

I grew up in Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand and have a big family. Three other siblings and we had a pretty great time, exploring New Zealand and always going on road trips and I just spent the last year in Colorado and had a lot of fun doing an exchange there, that made me pretty happy.”