Patricia
“Set boundaries. Ask for help. Learn how to use commas.”
Patricia, or Trish, is calm and patient, but also passionate and determined. She is always setting goals, whether in her personal or professional life, and works hard to meet them. Though things haven’t always come easily, Trish never gives up. She has a warm heart and a fun-loving soul; she is kind and compassionate to everyone she meets. Meet Patricia. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
P: I’m a 25 year old Kiwi who is Rotuman and English. My family and I moved to New Zealand from Fiji when I was 4 years old where I’ve lived in a small city called Hamilton for most of my life! My upbringing was pretty interesting going between two extremes - in financial hardship with my single mother raising four kids and then being sent overseas to visit my father, briefly living in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Wales, and Romania at different points in my life. I have three lovely brothers and a wonderful sister-in-law which I’m very grateful to be close with.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
P: World class in biting-off-too-much-to-chew, aggressively passionate, and a huge cry baby when it comes to watching movies, reading books, and playing out made up scenarios in my head. Friends and co-workers describe me as chatty, smart, and level-headed. Oh and someone once said that I was funny so let’s add that to the list while I’m here self-aggrandising.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
P: I’m constantly working on myself and reflecting on experiences. This has helped me develop a strong sense of self and identify my core values. This year’s mission is working on having positive intent (from Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead), setting boundaries, and being okay with being a work in progress.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
P: In my last year of high school I was struggling to balance working as a waitress, school and sports. I really didn’t know what setting boundaries looked like and felt so many expectations to achieve well in everything as well as support myself financially. This unfortunately led to burn-out where I failed school and didn’t get into university. I cried so much as I didn’t know of any other path for me.
Fast forward three years living overseas working as a nanny, getting into university at 20 studying towards my new found mission to understand mental health (a bachelors in Social Sciences majoring in Psychology and Computer Science), taking another gap year working as an operations manager for a small company, I now have a competitive job in IT at New Zealand’s largest bank. I haven’t quite graduated yet as I’m still ‘paying that price’ but having the financial freedom and an incredible job means a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I can continue addressing the socio-economic issues that result in so many young people falling out of the schooling system.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
P: Set boundaries. Ask for help. Learn how to use commas.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
P: Constantly breaking expectations and pushing back.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
P: My mother definitely showed me how to put my head down and get on with it. She’s a disciplined and incredibly hardworking woman who most of my friends were scared of. I will never forget the time when I told her my final exam results, expecting her to be angry that we’ve struggled for nothing, but instead she was compassionate and hugged me while I cried (and we never hugged!). I don’t think i’d say anything I haven’t already said but I’d give her a huge hug as she’s softened a lot with age.
