I can't imagine my world without Te Reo Maori. Te Reo Maori has not only been my first language being a part of the kohanga reo movement in the 80s but te reo has also been my go-to when needing to express myself. When I'm feeling lost or overwhelmed in life, I call on my reo to guide the way, whether through karakia, takutaku, waerea, or a simple waiata, haka, or patere. I always feel anchored after doing cultural practices. I get sad sometimes when my whanau are being mihi to, acknowledged because they don't get to fully comprehend those mihi because they cannot speak or understand te reo as an oral language, however, true to form, te reo Maori has a wairua aspect. 9 of 10 times whanau who don't have te reo can still feel the mihi or the korero. I have a personal obligation to the survival of te reo Maori me ona Tikanga because of these truths about te reo from my POV. Hence, I have taught in Kura and online for over 25 years. It's true the whakatauki, toku reo toku ohooho, toku reo toku mapihi maurea, toku reo toku whakakai marihi. Mei more taku reo Maori, mei kore ake au!