For the past few weeks I have been in the grip of an awful virus that sucked every last bit of energy out of me. I cannot remember feeling so sick, in a very long time. No matter how hard I willed myself to get out of bed and do something productive I just couldn’t do it. Lists went unchecked, boxes were not ticked, plans were cancelled, and goals were not kicked! This is the …
I have always loved school. I loved hanging out with my friends each day, being part of the school community and being inspired by the teachers around me. I even loved the pressure and structure of assignments and assessment tasks. Call me crazy, but I just loved everything about it. I loved it so much that I didn’t want to leave it. As the last day of Year 12 got closer and closer, I started …
I was born in Fiji on 5 April 1986 and for the first four years of my life I knew nothing but unconditional love. I lived with my parents, Fulori and Sakiusa and maternal grandmother, Naula. They all doted upon me, I was the focus of their affection and delighted in the security and stability that such love brings. My parent’s marriage was not a happy one however, and when I was four years old …
I grew up in a working class suburb of western Sydney called Mt Druitt. Despite the social challenges of our area, high levels of poverty, unemployment and criminal activity, my home was a happy one. Unlike most of my friends, my parents were together and loved each other very much; more than 50 years later, they still do. My dreams for the future were not lofty. I wanted to get married, raise a family, serve …
My story really begins before I was born. My mother was a shy, single 23 year old girl. Raised by a loving mother and father she was the third child in a family of eight children and had led a very sheltered life. Her first boyfriend was the ‘cast off’ boyfriend of her younger sister. He too was 23 but his life had been far less stable. His parents separated when he was three and …
