my identity
If you were to ask me where I’m from, I’d say that I was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. If you were to ask me about my ethnicity, I’d awkwardly admit that I’m half Māori and half Niuean.
That’s not something I was ever proud of when I was growing up. Throughout my life, “Māori” and “Niuean” were just boxes that I ticked on forms rather than cultural identities that I felt any real connection to.
Growing up in Auckland, I had surprisingly little exposure to my parents’ cultures. My dad is a first-generation New Zealander whose parents had migrated from Alofi in Niue in the late 1950s. He’s lived in Auckland his whole life, and despite travelling all over the world, he’s never been to the country his parents called home.
Link to article: The struggle to embrace my identity - E-Tangata
