I grew up...

Australia is a land of multiracial, multicultural peoples. I am one of them.

I grew up in Fiji. Spending school holidays with my grandparents in the village, way up the coast of one of the islands. We didn't have television, toys, refrigeration, electricity and many other things. In the evenings the radio would go on for an hour so that the grown-ups could listen to the news. They would listen to the Fiji news, then they would listen to the ABC News from Australia. I heard the ABC news and that accent and wondered what Australia was like - they seems awful smart. In my tiny little mind I decided that I would one day come to Australia...and I did.

Whatever your background, wherever you grew up, whether it was overseas or this country, there's a story to tell. Dig deep, find that child, what did that child dream? What was the wonderment of little you? Where did that all go?

I'm an adult now, with adult kids and somewhere in all the years the dream and wonderment faded. Funnily enough, Covid and lockdowns has reignited it all for me. Lockdown has meant time to think, quietness, introspection and contemplation.

It's back! Curiosity is back. Discovery is back. Trying new things is back (big time!), Pushing myself into the uncomfortable is back. That childlike wonderment is back. The world is exciting with so many opportunities, the future is bright and beautiful.

-Written by: Phyllis Whippy, Change, Comms and Learning champion :)