Guest Speaker at Careers Expo 2026, at Auckland Showgrounds, Greenlane...

  
This week, I had the privilege of being one of three guest speakers at an 'Inspiring the Future' event at the annual Careers Expo, which went over a two-day period that many Auckland secondary school students attended.

In the session that I attended, there were students from the Deaf Education school and two other local high schools. The two other speakers were also women, with one who was a Car collision specialist (mechanic) and a Scientist.

It was also neat that my three children attended with me as well and gave their support, as well as having a look around at all of the stalls of different universities, Technology Institutes, various career pathways, with lots of giveaways too.

I was able to give a short 10 - 15-minute talk about being a (self-published) author/illustrator, and I was also able to share about my books and how I came about to writing ancient Samoan stories and illustrated the pictures too.

There was an opportunity to ask questions, and I was able to answer questions around why it's important and how I was aware that the stories that I had researched many years ago as a part of my first Master's degree could be lost if I didn't start sharing them in book form.

It was such an honour and privilege to be able to share my journey, and I was also able to thank the organisers for such an opportunity, as I often don't get the opportunity to thank them. I also like encouraging students to try their best at whatever they are good at as I remember thinking during my final senior year at high school that "my ambition was to have an ambition" as I wasn't sure about what I wanted to be/do.

Next week, I've also been booked to attend another school and am looking forward to sharing with them as well...

Neice's Wedding Proposal...

Yesterday, I attended a proposal ceremony for my niece, who my parents had helped to bring up. I was at first surprised that it had been considered to be at the grave of my late father, yet I understood why it was important. 

As the youngest, my dad had a soft spot for her, which didn't always sit well with me to have favourites, but I also understood the special place that he had for their youngest.

I still remember, in his last years, how my late dad would speak with me to ensure that I promised to look out for her, as I did for my own children. He knew that he could trust me, as he had important values that he brought me up to do the same with mine.

It's a promise that I've kept, in the background, checking in every now and then and ensuring that all is well. I'm also glad that my own children feel protective in the same way, of each other, as they were all brought up together.

it was beautiful to have our mum there to witness the occasion. The pic shows a siapo or tapa cloth where the proposal took place in front of my late dad's gravesite. It was actually the first public proposal that I've ever been to, except for my own, which was private but at one of my favourite places, at the beach at night with the light of the moon.

After the proposal, she said "yes," and he gave her the engagement ring (which must have been a sigh of relief for her newly engaged partner). Then a small group of family and friends went to a newly renovated local restaurant that I had not been to before, and we simply had a great time there. 

I think the only thing missing was a dance floor. We then departed for home as the newly engaged couple continued their celebration with an after-party, with some club-hopping afterwards. But not for me, as the night before, my sister and I had been cleaning and preparing the site before the proposal.

All in all, it was a beautiful celebration and declaration of love, and I wish the newly engaged couple all the best as they look forward to planning their wedding for the new year. Already, there's a buzz of excitment as this would be one of the first weddings in our family for my children's generation to come...

Te Puhi Mote Ali...

I have a lil' sister who likes to have an eclectic mix of music, and when I listened to this song, it had a Pasifika vibe, which I believe is Tokelauan influenced. I've had it on repeat, and you can probably see why. Have a listen and see what you think...

Happy Birthday to our Mama...

 

Today, we celebrated the birthday of our beautiful mum and grandmother, who has been a blessing and inspiration to us all.

We thank God for a wonderful Mama/mum who helped us to see the beauty of what it was like to be a mum, wife, sister, auntie, grandmother, friend, etc., in all her special ways.

Through her creativity, I became creative as I saw her sew, design and make our clothes, cook wonderful meals that were second to none, clean and tidy, she demonstrated independence in her thinking, a handicrafter of Samoan mats and many other things and still took time to teach us. She showed us tenacity with a grace about her.

Today we took her out to lunch at a local cafe and enjoyed our time together. Three generations laughing and talking with her as she enjoyed going out and about with her family. She was generously spoiled by her grandchildren and then after blowing out the cake, with sparkly grape juice and saying affirmations we had another round of karaoke which brought about more laughs and some off beat singing.

All in all, we all had a great time and enjoyed ourselves immensely. My mum is my heroine and also for my children in demonstrating unconditional love and helping us to grow to be better women and carers in our family. I pray that God continues to bless, protect and shower her with His love and grace. We are better people for having been placed in her care and love...