My Te Araroa Walk

In the search to find myself after a tragedy I couldnt avoid I found some peace. While travelling overseas, at the age of 19, I met a very special person. She was transgender though that meant nothing towards how I felt. We were like kindred spirits and we spent months getting to know each other.

It wasn't long before I began to feel sacred in the way she was acting. It's hard to explain but something just didn't feel right.

Little did I know that not long after one of the hardest moments in my life would happen. She took her own life.

It is now many years on and is something that I have struggled greatly with. I have since had feelings of taking my own life. I have recently found that it is her death that helped me understand some meaning of life. We all need to support each other and help through hard times.

Nz has a very high suicide rate. I never knew about who I could call for support with my loss alongside my own feelings.

I don't want any other young person, or anyone at any age, to have to go through what I did. I have decided to walk the length of the North Island, on the Te Araroa trail to raise money and get help for struggling young New Zealanders.