Growing up
As a Pacific migrant our Samoan worldview is centred around family, especially pleasing parents.
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My life in Samoa was simple, I was protected by my parents. We were surrounded by a shared family and village responsibility which meant that I always felt safe.
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Leaving the comfort of home to come to New Zealand was a whole new world to discover. It took a while to find my place in my new home. How does one begin to learn about Aotearoa's way of life compared to my simple upbringing? My main obligation upon arrival was to work and send money back home.
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However, my real dream was to pursue education. Sometimes the absence of trust within families is actually made worse because there was no open communications regarding how I could still help my family and pursue my dreams. ​
Although I wanted to pursue my education I felt at times caught in between the obligation and my dreams. It was lonely and very difficult to find likeminded peers and support. There was no way to understand where to seek appropriate help.
It was a vulnerable time to adjust to a new country. There was a lot of adjustments socially and econcmically including knowing how to navigate the right friendships which I wasn't always familiar with.
Some of these experiences were traumatic and it has taught me deep empathy and understanding of what it's like for early migrant Pacific families raising a new generation who are not only born in New Zealand but balancing how to raise them in a Pakeha environment whilst still keeping their cultural identiy and values alive.
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I take my life experience into the work I do now.