Lisa

“Just before I turned 17 I started work in a butcher’s shop. I had wanted to become a joiner because I enjoyed making things with my hands, but got told that not only was I not strong enough, but that a woman’s place was in the office not in the workshop! I am not an […]

Aperahama

“I am a child of the universe. I try to live my truth and I try to walk my truth. So that the universe is not confused and I’m not confused. So what I’m putting out there is pure intent, just like the universe. When Tāne-mahuta breathed life into first woman, ‘tihei mauri ora’, all […]

Vanessa

“As a child I was extremely self reliant and very responsible, I think I was very good at convincing myself that I just cope really well with things. It took me a while to realise I had struggles with mental health because I think a lot of things we internalise as being normal at a […]

Jo

“People don’t normally talk about what they struggle with, they only talk about the good.  Compared to someone else, I don’t feel like I’ve been through as much. It’s hard because I feel like I am very fortunate. I had a pretty good upbringing but there were also problems there as well. It’s lots of […]

Rachel

“I thought life would look a particular way, but it just doesn’t look the way I thought it would. I call it my Plan B life. There’s been some challenges in my life; endometriosis, infertility, childlessness (as opposed to childfree), divorce; that all makes for a pretty shitty story. I mean it does make me […]

Mark

“People don’t take you seriously if you are wearing a bowtie these days do they?  Especially in NZ, you get doubletakes – is he wearing a bowtie and a pocket watch?  So I thought oh well I didn’t know everyone’s name and they are all my customers, so it’s far easier to go around greeting […]

Catherine

“I was a science teacher. I studied physics and did my PhD so I was heading in that direction to be a scientist, then I realised I didn’t like the solitary work. After a while of teaching I recognised that science education was not doing what I really thought it could do for our society.  […]

Parisa

“I moved to New Zealand in 2001. My parents chose Christchurch to live in as a city because I am disabled and chch city is flat, I’m able to live here quite easily. I like the people in Christchurch, so kind, always. I used to live in a big country and big city, Tehran, Iran. […]

Elizabet

I am originally from Bolivia.  I met my husband here when he was working with Latin American people. When I arrived I could only speak very little English. I was prepared mentally for everything new, new language, new people, new culture. I was very open about what I was about to learn.  My husband was […]

Rosie

“I’m an intentional creativity artist.  Intentional creativity is like my navigation system. It’s a step into the unknown. For me it’s about having a way, navigating both the inner and the outer journey of life. Because when you create with intention; and that can be anything like doing the garden, planting plants or vegetables or […]