 Growing up in Wellington was full of fun and family and connection. I picked up a guitar when I was like 11 and I never put it down since, so full of music. When I step back into my nan's house, I'm reminded of how important family is. Being Aboriginal isn't your skin colour and isn't how you talk or how you act. Being Aboriginal is your connection to culture and I always was connected to my family. I was always connected to my nan and my pop and my mum and my aunties and uncles and my community. I've always been Aboriginal and I'll always be Aboriginal. Growing up I had different things that I wanted to do. I went through different phases, you know at some point I wanted to be a zookeeper and at one point I wanted to be a national. No one who ever knew me would think that I would ever want to be a teacher. But you know, growing up in an overall community that's so affected by substance abuse and domestic violence, you know that was something that I wanted to change. These issues are a massive reason as to why I want to do education. I think education is a key to a lot and I want to be able to help my community. I first heard about the YAPOG program online and I thought, hey that's cool, that's something I could do. It allows you to do different subjects at no cost. It definitely changed my mindset, allowed me to develop more skills and become a better learner and a better educator. Doing YAPOG was the best decision I ever made. I ended up figuring out exactly what I want to do and finding my calling. Here's where my heart is, so I would love to come back to Wellington. My community gave so much to me and I want to give back to my community. I can't wait to be able to inspire young people to be their true selves and to be the best of their abilities. It doesn't matter what road you want to take, what career pathway you want to take, what education pathway you want to take, just as long as you are 100% authentically yourself, then that's the best that you can possibly make.