Kia ora tātou, I lost my reo at the age of 6. Reo is all i knew and all i understood. I got sick with Meningitis causing fluid on the brain which then caused Epilepsy Seizures and having experience this. This has now impacted on my learnings overall to retain knowledge. I then had to be put back into Nappies and i had to learn how to speak and walk again. I still to this date have trouble retaining knowledge but i do not give up. In 2020 i looked into my reo journey. I completed a course with Te Wananga O Raukawa. In 2021 life got to busy. I have re-visited my reo journey last month and have really enjoyed Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2022. - I moved into my new role with Te Tari Tāke. - I attended Tame Iti's exb I will not speak māori. - I learnt new waiata and become apart of Hāpati where i am learning new karakia. - I have expanded more on karanga. - I listened to the podcast on spotify Everyday māori and attended a Te Wananga O Aotearoa session. I have made a promise to myself that i will continue my learning and making these small steps to my reo journey to introduce more learnings and more kupu throughout my day. Doing this is is really bringing out the confidence in me to speak the language i've always known. Ngā mihi, Cairoh.