Nicole | Tūrangi, Waikato

“About a year ago it was my birthday, and I was unemployed, homeless, my grandad was really sick, my kids’ dad had gone to court for full custody, I had just been diagnosed with a psychological condition, and I remember waking up, and being so grateful, and I couldn’t believe it.

I was just so grateful that other people were giving me a home, over mine and my kids’ heads. I was so grateful that I had day after day delicious food to eat. I was so grateful to live in Aotearoa, where there was support and tautoko for someone in my shoes. There was something so incredible about feeling overwhelmingly grateful without a gift, without a particular person there, without anything, just that I was healthy and that I had all that I needed. There’s moments when everything is stripped away, and you realise what’s important. You’re pretty grateful to have those things because not everyone does and I really noticed that in Covid that it was easy to stay grateful because I’d learned that lesson in a pretty extreme way. So I’m very grateful for the people who’ve carried me through so many things.

Things change really fast. I have a really great job and a really beautiful house. I feel like I’m pinching myself all the time with life, but what’s cool is that those lessons that you learn in the hard times stay with you. You get to keep that extreme level of gratitude. So, if you have a bad day it’s easy to tap into that gratitude, and remember what matters. So while life’s on the up, it’s amazing how no matter how good life is, you can still have really bad days. Sometimes I feel like a spoiled brat when you’re not feeling grateful. So you can just go back to that place and be grateful because you’ve been through something and you just see things every day that remind you of where you were and how much you have to be grateful for. Nowadays I get to be grateful for sitting in the spa, or not having to think about how to pay the basic bills.

I was born and raised in Whanganui. I grew up here and then I moved up to Taupō. I’ve been an outdoor instructor. In Taupō I I brought a house, had a couple of kids, got married before those things, then found myself on my own. I spent more than two years trying to get into Police College, and then got an ADHD diagnosis which flipped life on its head, really. I’ve always been really active, and always knew I wanted to work with teenagers, and that’s what I get to do now. 

So I work for the Whanganui District Council, and I support the youth committee, which is a bunch of 12-24-year olds. There’s 14 on the committee, and so I get young people’s voice to the table of decision-makers. Having them input on different policies and also promoting what is happening in our town for young people and getting them to engage, whether it’s in the elections or in promoting events that awesome people are doing. So we’re working in a kaupapa around rangatahi Māori and bringing them to a space of wellbeing, and getting that into a digital platform. So, it’s really exciting projects that I get to work on. 

My advice is don’t hold back. Just go all out. If you’re feeling, then you’re alive, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So, be passionate. Don’t be afraid to be who you are, be yourself and be true to yourself and just go all in. Go all in. Say yes.”