What has whānau taught you?
Elliot | Tāmaki Makaurau
Elliot’s family have guided him through his life when things got hard. With a new family of his own, that’s now his role.
“I’ve got six sisters and two brothers. And there’s a lot of ‘t’s that I can’t cross and ‘i’s that I can’t dot. You know, being the type of person I am, whānau in my life keep me in the boat every time I fall out, every time I get the big sad or something. They keep me back, they keep me moving.
And now I’m in the boat. I have a new little family, and I have to keep everyone in the boat. I feel like that’s a part of my responsibility, and I have to keep myself in the boat. But it’s great having a family because it’s like, “Am I losing my mind?” And they’re like, “No, you’re okay, steady the course, calm yourself, take rest.” All those lessons.
And you need people around you who care. And then you need to care for the people around you. It’s this sort of thing like that. I think. Or that’s my experience of it.”
