Pura | Taupō, Waikato
“One thing I’ll always be grateful for, is when Kimmy came into our lives, and helped my mother, which helped us, because we weren’t exactly perfect people. I guess with her and what we went through with her, helped us become the person I am today, which I am very grateful for.
Because I’m happier, and do a lot of things that I wouldn’t do, I’m more out there. I have a voice now, when I wouldn’t speak, or anything, that’s something I’ll always be grateful for. I’m grateful for my education. I’m grateful for people by me that didn’t get to finish school. So, I’ll finish school for us. So, that’s what I’m grateful for. I’m grateful for a lot of things. I’m grateful to be alive today. I’m grateful for having strong people stand beside me when I’m low and when I need help. There’s always going to be someone there. The funny thing is, till now, I didn’t really think about it. I’ve always known that they’re there, but I just realised that they’re always going to be there, and that’s something I’m really grateful for.
What I’ve learned is that it’s not always going to be bad. There’s going to be good times and bad times, and that you’re going to get through it. You might think there’s no-one there, but there’s always going to be people that want to help you and I’m a helper now. So, I like helping my friends, with a lot of background stuff. I learned that other people are going through the same things, so it’s just good to be nice to them, because you never know what anyone’s going through, and you don’t know what they’re struggling with at home or in school. I want to be a social worker. I just want to help people, really. I’ve just learned a lot of things that can get people through it. There’s a plan. There’s always going to be a plan. Thankfully, because there’s always people that could be going through the same thing you’re going through. Just be nice as you can, even if, and try not to hold it in too much. There’s always going to be someone there that will listen, sit down and listen with you. The world’s not against you.
I grew up in Tūrangi. It’s worse than it was, but Tūrangi is gang-affiliated. You know? There’s drugs. A lot of violence going on there, and just not good stuff, yeah. But there’s going to be some good times and some bad times.”
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