Dilyn | Brooklyn, Tasman

“One time my friend and I went out together and she told me about some of her struggles with school work, and we were able to talk it through each other, and it helped. It turned out that we both had a lot of the same struggles and neither of us knew about it.

It was a lot better when we talked to each other, and it made things easier. I think it’s important that we are in an environment where we feel comfortable to share things, because you often feel a lot better once you get it off your chest, and it can help to discuss it with somebody else who may have gone through the same things. I grew up in Glenhope outside of Murchison, and moved here about six years ago. I like to go outside and I also like to write and draw, and act and stuff like that. We did a Shakespeare festival a few weeks back where we did just quick skits from Shakespeare plays. That was a lot of fun. I often talk to my mum about things like that as well. She’s always a good person to talk to, and it’s nice to get it out, because we’re very similar and often it helps when we can talk through different things that we’ve both experienced.

My mum’s really nice. We have a lot of similarities. She and I are very alike. She’s also an author, and she works with kids, and she’s very understanding. Even though it’s a bit hard to open up sometimes, when you talk to her, it’s very easy, and she’s helpful with it.

We talk about the usual kind of life stresses, bullying and stuff like that. I’ve often talked to her about it and she’s always been there. The rest of my family’s always been there as well. Bullying’s not an easy thing to go through, and having somebody to talk about it with is always nice. It helps and Mum was very understanding, because she could let me know that I wasn’t alone, and that it wasn’t anything that was wrong with me. It’s just something that’s happening.

It’s not fun, but I guess it builds character. Who knows? Nobody should have to experience bullying, but it doesn’t make you any less of a person if you do, for whatever reason.”