Mere
“Love who you are because no one else is you!”
She is a risk-taker, a performer and a nurturer. She is passionate about her culture and empowering other women. Mere follows her heart, but is also driven by her own strength and determination. This is her story.
Mere in the islands, with her family (her happy place)
P: Please introduce yourself!
M: Kia Orana! My name is Mere, I'm 24 years old and I’m a mama of two handsome boys living in the beautiful island of Rarotonga with my partner. I grew up New Zealand but both my parents are from the islands. I'm the third eldest sibling out of nine children. We have such a big family and I love it! On the daily I’m an energetic and motivated trainer/health coach.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
M: I'm a caring and nurturing mama. Self-motivated and always up for a challenge! I have a strong passion for sharing and helping people, especially women through my creative work in the health and fitness industry. I'm an entrepreneur and self employed. I am honest, authentic, loyal and loving. I tell it how it is.
I love my culture. Ura (dancing) is a huge part of that and I'm grateful that I get to be on stage performing and sharing it with people from all over the world. I love myself a bit of glam and fashion. I'm energetic, bubbly, outgoing but I also like my quiet time. I choose to surround myself with like-minded people and am always looking to add value to different areas of my life. I am my biggest competition and a bit of a perfectionist. I can also be a bit of a diva at times haha!
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
M: My favourite thing about myself is my self-motivation. I'm very self-driven and have always been this way since a very young age. Alongside that I matured quite quickly while growing up and gained a lot of knowledge during that time, which I found made me a bit wiser beyond my years. It's definitely helped shape me to become the woman that I am today. It's also helped me to empower and motivate other women through my work. When I became a mama, I felt that my drive went to a whole new level and that I have a lot more purpose in life.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
M: After my first trip to the islands, I fell in love with the lifestyle and could vision myself living there. So, I decided that the day after my graduation, I would pack up my life in New Zealand and book a one-way flight to Rarotonga. I had just come out of student life, barely had any money saved up, no anau (family) here or any that I had known of at the time, no transport and no job, but grateful that I had made a few friends during my previous stay and that I had a place to live. Within the first week I found a job at a salon as a makeup artist, but still had no transport. So, I would run to work each day Monday to Saturday, have a change of clothes with me, shower at work, work my day and then run or sometimes walk along the beach back home. I would roughly clock in just over 5kms each day. I was so determined to live here that I was willing to do whatever it took for me to stay. I had so much faith and really trusted my gut feeling that this was going to work out. I found so much new strength in me for really going after what I wanted in life and it's such a fulfilling feeling. I met some really great friends, am getting paid to do something I love which is dancing at an award-winning tourist attraction here and everything else that followed after had a positive snowball effect.
My partner and I then found out that we were expecting our first child together and I was so excited, yet nervous because I was always so used to being around my anau and sharing moments like this with them. I was scared knowing that this would be my biggest blessing and challenge by far. That motherhood itself is a whole other level of strength. The physical strength it takes to bring life into this world, the mental and emotional strength that I have developed over the time I've carried and nurtured our boys earth side. These are just some of my strengths that I am forever learning and growing in. I am a strong believer in everything happening for a reason. In saying that I have always been independent and a risk taker but this was the next level - a new chapter, transition and country. This whole experience has made me realise that I am so much stronger than I know at sometimes.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
M: Wow I love this question! I would definitely say don't care about other people's opinions of you. Love who you are because no one else is you!
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
M: Being a woman to me means being 'you', everything that you truly are and want to be. It's owning it. It’s empowering yourself and other women to believe that anything you set your mind to is possible. It’s cheering each other on and supporting a woman’s wins. It’s uplifting each other.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
M: There are just so many amazing woman that inspire me! I would say to them - I think your amazing and I love what you do.