I have been on a journey to learn te reo Māori for the last five years. My commitment is to keep going as long as I live. I hear my father behind me, urging me to speak more. He always put the effort in and I remember interactions he had in Tūranga-nui a Kiwa.
When he died his body was taken to a mārae. I felt the honour for him. None of us could speak for him in Māori. My journey takes me through embarrassment and so much shame.
I often find it hard to remember and I still don't roll my rs and get my pronunciation 100%, but each year I get more confident. Each year the pattern becomes more embedded, each year I learn more and more. It is a taonga.
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