Long time no blog, and I can only apologise wholeheartedly! Life tends to get a bit crazy, and it’s only now that I feel like I can actually pause and reflect on everything that’s happened since I posted last.
As I look to the date of my last post, I can’t help but chuckle a teeny bit, because this post will (hopefully) come to life exactly one month after my last.
As it has been a month since I’ve graced a computer screen with my mindless drabble, a lot has happened, most recently, my 21st birthday!
Yes, I am officially 21 as of a week ago, and it feels strange. Every birthday that passes, I feel the need to reflect on what the past year has given me. What lessons I’ve been taught, what has worked, and what definitely hasn’t.
As I’ve been swamped with assignments and life, I didn’t want to do anything too strenuous, nor did I want to stick to the stereotypical 21st party (drinking a lot of alcohol and being silly) – so I opted for dinner with my family a few days before my actual birthday (and I even went to a four hour morning class that day!).
All my family and close friends (aka Hannah, but she’s basically family) piled into several cars and headed to a Chinese restaurant to enjoy dinner. It was a really good night, and I was presented with my 21st key by my father. Then the speeches rolled along, thankfully none were too long or embarrassing.
[A key is given to someone who has just turned 21, and is said to represent the unlocking of the adult world].
It was an amazing weekend filled with so much happiness. I always feel so elated whenever I visit my family. No matter what happens here in Hamilton, all of it is suddenly deemed irrelevant when I go back to Mount Maunganui and visit my family.
I’m not a tired, overworked, broke tertiary student. I’m just Tessa. A loving aunty, daughter, sibling, and friend.
And I am more than okay with that.
Onto other news…
I have an announcement to make… Don’t worry, nothing too serious has happened. I’m not on my death bed as I write this (I am, however, on my bed, but that’s neither here nor there).
For the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to write for a Māori and Pasifika student magazine named Te Kete Kōrero.
Next year, I will be editor of said magazine!
It has been a decision that’s been plaguing me for the past two months and had all started with (what I thought was) a not-so-serious comment made by Naomi. We were discussing our plans for next year (she graduates this coming March, and I still have another year of my degree left), and she said this.
“You know, you could be editor [of Te Kete Kōrero] next year.”
I thought she was joking.
Spoiler alert: She wasn’t.
I instantly denied it, and followed that closely with “I don’t think I’d be good enough for it. I’m not even a journalism student. It wouldn’t make sense to have a PR major edit a heavily journalism focussed publication.”
Of course, she would not let up, and kept bugging me about it (encouragingly I might add).
After that, I started thinking about it more deeply.
I had discussed it with a couple of my tutors, and they were also very encouraging of me taking the editor’s role next year.
I was still very, very unsure about taking it – until about two weeks ago.
I had been sitting with someone at tech, and had asked when I would start taking the role of Editor.
And then it hit me...
That was the first time I had truly believed that I could be an editor of a magazine.
And suddenly a wave of relief (or panic, or excitement, I’m not quite sure) crashed over me, and I grinned so hard my face hurt!
Fast forward to today, and I’m officially editor of Te Kete Kōrero, and have shared this news with my closest friends, and the two tutors that encouraged me to take the opportunity.
One was kind enough to leave me with a quote, which I will share with you now.
“Opportunities are random. I do believe you have to be brave enough to take them on when they appear, not when you believe you are ready.”
Now that I’ve taken this opportunity and thought about it a lot more, this quote rings true, and will stick with me for a very long time yet.
Anyways, that’s enough from me. I’ll end this post with a photo of most of my family before we were leaving for dinner.
Stay safe everyone!
Tessa.
