Laura
“Listening to people’s stories help you not only understand that person, but often can teach you a lot about your own life.”
She is someone you can trust with anything. Laura is kind and considerate, she is hard working and quick-witted. She has a bubbly personality and is always there to brighten up your day, give you a hand or make you laugh. Meet Laura. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
L: Kia ora, I’m Laura Dobson, born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand, which I am still lucky to call my current home. I am 9125 days old, that’s 300 months of living on this beautiful planet.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
L: I am extremely extroverted, yet extremely private when it comes to my personal life, some may say I have a wall up, I think it’s more an instinct of protection.
I would define my character as, humorous, caring, particular (aka A type) and overall a pretty decent human.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
L: My ability to listen, and by that I mean genuinely listen and retain the information. I have always had a strong interest in people, listening to people’s stories help you not only understand that person but often can teach you a lot about your own life.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
L: An interesting question, often when asked to tell a story, we feel like it has to be EXTREME in some way to be impactful, which then puts this pressure on you to make your story more ‘interesting’ or ‘entertaining’. So let me tell you about a time that may not sound like much to most, but helped shape me into who I am now.
I was talking to someone I could not stand, in a way that every word that came out of this person’s mouth would irritate or annoy me. One day this person and I were chatting, they broke down, tears rolling down their face as they told me their struggles, out of the blue.
It caught me off guard, I didn’t know how to react, and then I realised we all human. We all have our own struggles and sometimes you just need a shoulder to lean on, it doesn’t matter in that moment about our differences or clashes in personality, who was I to judge them purely based on what I saw from the outside only.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
L: Do not let fear hold you back from experiencing life. Fear is a natural reoccurring emotion that cannot always be controlled but SO many times growing up I was so fearful of the consequence and judgement that it held me back from really experiencing life’s great lessons, good or bad.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
L: Being a women gives you a very special key to unlock a whole lot of awesomeness, from being able to grow another human life, to having an instant sense of community and connection with other women, it means having one another’s backs, to encourage and help each other grow.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
L: My mum. WOW, very original I know. But I think a lot of us can relate to how impactful our mothers have been/are in our lives.
I would thank her for being so selfless, strong and for her unconditional love she constantly shows to those around her.