Kaya | Pukekohe

Last year, my why was not to feel so whakama about not speaking Te Reo Māori.

Today I still feel that way, but through University, I have understood that language is associated with culture and identity. Like being comfortable with who I am, and that is being a non-fluent Māori. So every day I spend studying the language is a step closer to the revitalisation of Te Reo Māori in Aotearoa.

For years, I have suppressed who I was to fit in, and now I see that is not something I wish to continue— Kaitiaki of not only whenua and he Tangata but the language which is a taonga for Māori.