My Merrin Memories

2015

I was sitting in room 1 on my Mum's lap being introduced to Miss Bargh for the first time. The thing is, that was 8 years ago. I’d just finished at Annabel's preschool, I was dressed in pink and purple clothes and ready for anything, well, as ready as a 5-year-old could take.

Apparently, I refused to let my Mum take me to school on the first day, as I knew she would cry. We were placed in classrooms. I was in room 3 with Misses Spicer and Alana Thompson, who was my first friend at Merrin. We did all the little things, learning about letters and sentences, handwriting etc. I remember Miss Spicer had a Spongebob stuffed toy that different students would take for the weekend and would have to write in his notebook about all his fun adventures. My old friend Senara had taken Spongebob to Jelly Park and had done a drawing in his notebook. The drawing involved the water being red which basically gave 5-year-old me the indication that Jelly Park was a park where you could swim in Jelly. My disappointment when I went for the first time couldn’t be explained in words…

2016

Year 1 was very much a blur, but year 2 is much more vivid to remember. In year 2, 2016, I was put into room 4 with Miss Abrahams. Year 2 was when Alana moved up a year while I stayed behind so I kind of had to start again with the whole friend side of things. Soon enough I met Mila Jones. Mila Jones was an amazing friend and we got so close over the years, we really started to become friends in 2016, and she was also good friends with Mia Stucky, who is today’s head girl. I also became friends with Ryan Ge, who I still know now.

I remember getting rather humbled during one class. I went to the bathroom during shared reading and I ran back into the class yelling “Did I miss anything??” trying to be cool. I then was told off by Miss Abrahams. During this time I was invited by new friends such as Mila Jones, who I already talked about, and Eva Grace. Eva Grace became my reason to start gymnastics, but shortly after I broke my arm I drifted away from gymnastics. Eva Grace I believe currently goes to St Margaret's. She left in year 4 and I’m happy she’s happy.

During this time, we had swimming lessons, which came with swimming buddies! My swimming buddy would sit with me on the bus and would take me to my lesson at school, I think they were in year 7 / 8. They taught me how to do the dab, which was very ‘trendy’ at the time and they also were really kind. I always remember looking up to them and I hope I look like them now to younger students.

2017

Year 3 / 4. I remember one day we had to dress up as your favourite book character. I went as the mad hatter’s daughter, but we didn’t want to go out and buy a whole costume for one day, so we improvised with very casual clothes. I went to school only to see another child who also came as The Mad Hatter's daughter but her costume was top-notch. My costume looked almost silly compared to hers, and we actually had to stand up during Waiwhetu to show off our costumes. I remember feeling embarrassed for probably the first time!

During years 3 and 4, I really started to connect to Merrin, which was when I was with Miss Carter. I am truly grateful for the 2 years I had with Mrs Carter. Mrs Carter always saw the best in me and challenged me to always work my hardest and stay strong. Mrs Carter introduced me to the values I now am proud to be a part of.

I not only kept my bond strong with Mila as my little sister Harriet and Mila’s little sister Eve began their own journey at Merrin, and also became friends with Ryan Ge. Me and Ryan Ge became very close but after lots of investigating I found out we have 1 video where we are somewhat “friends” but we were very close. We would do inquiry together and hang out a lot. Sadly we drifted apart in year 4 but we have become friends again recently. As year 4 came around, I was delighted to find out I had been put into room 6, with Mrs Carter again but also with Mila! This year was so fun because me and Mila were in the same class. We did everything together, such as math, and writing everything! I also had the opportunity to join pen pals where Mila and some others and I would go around the classrooms collecting broken pens so they could be made into wheelchairs! I loved year 3 / 4 and I’m so grateful for my teachers.

2020

Year 5 was a bit of a mess, but I can remember the camp of 2020! It was not fun - well in my opinion. When we first got to Blue Skies we found our cabin list. I wasn’t angry at mine but I certainly wasn’t thrilled. Me and Mia had put together a dance performance for the talent show as well, we had actually rehearsed and had very professional choreography. I don’t want to be mean so I’ll just say the other performances’ had a little less… well planning. I was very shocked when we didn’t win, like come on… I also went kayaking. Me and Mia decided to go underneath a big tree that was overhanging the water, seeing as the branches were rather long it was hard to see long reeds growing from the bottom. I went first and managed to avoid the reeds, but I can’t say the same for Mia. Needless to say, she got completely caught up in the reeds.

Nighttime during camp was so chaotic. Chloe Wright and Chloe Wang were both homesick and wouldn’t go to sleep. Me, Lolo, and Mia were all trying to calm them down but you have to pick your battles (thanks Mr A for that great saying) We also had Ting Ting who was only there because she got kicked out of her assigned bunk, oh and let's add the fact Savannah was complaining about how close she was to the ceiling. Mind you it’s now 11 at night and my brain is barely sane, while the other two kids were very peacefully sleeping. Our cabin was right next to the boy's bathroom which they would knock on our walls, which just added to our eventful nights. We got scared so went and told the teachers, the teachers then told the boys off and all told us off for being so loud. We all eventually calmed down and were all quiet and I think I even dozed off for a bit, until Savannah decided it was time to ruin our chances of getting sleep by saying “Is it just me or can you guys hear the screaming as well?” Freaked out, I started crying and then I just fell asleep.

2020 was the year Chorale started. I didn’t originally audition, but during an audition for our production, I was offered a part in Chorale. I then learnt multiple songs which we would be performing at the northwest music festival! We learnt 2 songs, (I can’t remember the first one) and ‘This is me’ from The Greatest Showman. We were told about a solo part in the song, and I thought I might as well give it a go. Being a little shy at the time I didn’t want everyone to look at me as not many people had heard me sing before Miss Revell asked if I would prefer the others to look away during my audition, so I said yes and to say the least, I got the solo! I was very happy with myself and we took that song to the North West music festival where I sang my solo!

2021

Year 6 was when I started to branch out, make new friends, and get different skills. During previous years, I had been in the same classes with pretty much the same students but this year my Mum wanted me to be put into a smaller class so I could make new friends. Which I did. I became friends with Nina Garcia and the majority of her friends.

During year 6, I was in room 20 which was about to be moved so the new hall could be built. So we had to move our classroom into the old hall. Chaotic right? During our time in the hall, Nina and I were aware the hall was going to get bulldozed so we took an opportunity and wrote both our names in the back on the floor. Yes, yes, it was naughty but it’s something that we kept even when it got demolished.

2022

In 2022 I was in Miss L’s class, which was horrible because we had to wear masks for half the year. Due to COVID, we were unable to go to camp. So we got to do different fun activities instead of camp. We were scheduled to go to Orton Bradley Park, But unfortunately, I got COVID and had to spend a week at home. But fear not, I was still able to go on the beach trip later in the year.

The end of the year rolled around, and values applications were nearly due. I viciously worked on mine, night and day, any second I could. Until the due date came. All my friends had sent theirs in but I was saving mine for the last minute. I sent it, then I deleted it, thinking I had no chance of getting into the team, and I didn’t want to look at it again. Then, we were all sitting in the hall, and as the Rangatiratanga team 2023 was getting called out I waited patiently for my name to be called, however, it came to the second to last person and I accepted I hadn’t made it into the team, then my name was called out. Although 2022 was last year, it definitely flew by!

2023

And here we are, my final year at Merrin. At the start of this year, I was super excited for the year to come, for this year it would be official where I’m going to high school and I was excited to go to camp. Anyway…

The start of the year came around and the rangatiratanga team was able to host the first assembly of 2023. I had never publicly spoken in front of the whole school, so I was a little afraid but it went very well! And it definitely wasn’t our last… Of course, we didn’t just host assemblies, we also went to this thing called the 40-hour famine youth conference. This was so fun, because I ended up bonding with Julia Li at this conference, and I’m so happy I did! Considering I’d only ever been off sight with my whole class I was super excited for this conference because it was only 4 of us going, which meant more freedom etc. I remember on the drive home there was a popular song at the time playing and the back of the car were singing and dancing. It was super fun!

What's another thing we hosted you ask? Well, discos! Discos… I’ve been a proud supporter since 2016. I remember rocking up in my totally cool on-theme DIY outfit and rocking the dance floor, spending my little pocket change on lollipops and not telling mum, who would’ve known 7 years later I’d be hosting one? Setting up the discos healed my inner 6-year-old, and to see the other little kids experiencing the same stuff I experiencing makes me smile.

Camp of 2023. This camp was very interesting, especially considering the start of my year had all completely changed. I was put into Miss Burt’s calls and was happy enough to be in the same class as Livia Rohland. We were best friends at the time but she moved away in April, leaving me to fend for myself in term 2 onwards.

We started term 2 with a bang - going straight to camp. I was relieved to find out I was in a cabin with multiple of my friends and had a lot of fun during camp. The food was great and the first day was extra fun cause it was almost like a free day, well not including the horrible walk up to the camp.

Before everyone went to sleep on the first night, we heard a knock on the window. Everyone in my cabin was horrified. We then knocked on other objects around the cabin to make sure that it was definitely the window we had heard. After that, it was chaos. Looking back on it now it was hilarious, but nobody thought that at the time.

After that me, Julia and Mia waited in our sleeping bags until everyone who wanted to sleep had gone to sleep. Then we played Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza until we finally had to sleep. We also played truth or dare and card games. On both nights this lasted until at least 2 in the morning, and by the end of it, we were all so tired and delusional. Every time we heard any noise outside in the hallway, Julia grabbed the lights, I raced back to bed, and Mia flopped on top of the cards still in her sleeping bag.

We were supposed to go Skiing in term 3 in year 8, but that got cancelled so we went Ice Skating instead. I was happy to find out Mia was also going Ice Skating as I was afraid of being alone. I already knew how to skate so I was in the middle of the rink. Near the end of the session we were going to have a group photo out from the edge, so Mia finally just skated out and then never had to go back to the side.

I loved my time at Merrin but I’m super excited for my new chapter. Thank you, Merrin!

My Heroes

Although I have quite a few heroes, my mum is my favourite . My mum has always been there for me and I’m forever grateful she did what she could to help me get to where I am now. The little things such as helping out with selling chocolates and teaching me how to not burn eggs are memorable things I will always remember.

My other heroes include my Dad, who has also helped me over the years. Also Maddie and Lily. Maddie and Lily are both my cousins who I’ve been with my whole life. From the young age of 4, I was travelling with my nana to Australia just to see Lily. Lily is my role model, for she is so pretty and confident and I wish to be like her. Maddie is also my role model. She again is so gorgeous and confident… and she has an excellent style of clothes.

Overall all my heroes have impacts on who I am today and I’m very grateful for them all.

My Jams

My music taste is very random and changes almost every month. At the moment, I love to listen to Sabrina Carpenter's music. She has such a beautiful voice and her songs make so much sense and are so true to everything. Also, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like her! I hope I’m still listening to music as I get older!

My Ultimate Future Self

This task is asking me to explain where I see myself in 5 years, 10 years, and 50 years. The future is rather scary to think about, but here’s where I hope I am.

In 5 years it will be 2028. A Lot of things would have changed by then, I will be 18 years old, which is pretty much an adult. At 18, I hope I have a part-time job giving me money to buy gifts for family, friends, and of course, myself. I hope I’ve worked hard in school and dance and had amazing opportunities during my time at high school. I hope I'm still in close contact with my dance friends and still passionate about dance. I hope I’m looking at moving out, I want out of the house the second I can!

In 10 years I will be 23, that nearly made me vomit. At 23, hopefully, I’ve moved out. I hope I have a steady income and maybe even a pet. Hopefully, I will still be connected with my family (cousin, etc) and have a good group of friends to keep my life joyful.

In 50 years I will be 63. I hope I have a family by 63, and a steady income job but most importantly I hope I’m happy. I hope I’m still going on my yearly trips with my family, still having the occasional brunch with my friends and I hope I have clear skin. That’s a weird request but oh well.

Thinking about the future is funny, especially writing this. I’m basically setting standards for how I want my life to go. I thought really hard about this while writing it and thought about how if when I’m older I haven't met these standards I might be mad at myself. Hopefully, all goes well for me, good luck!

My Favourite Quote

‘The present is the future past. We’ve gotta make this moment last - Sabrina Carpenter’

This is such an important quote. During my lifetime, the amount of times I haven’t done something and then felt guilty and regretted not doing it is pretty much every time. Now whenever I pause, I just think to myself “How many times are you going to get this opportunity? Do it!!” You only ever live once, don’t waste it!

‘If you’re nervous, that means you care and you want to give your best - Adriana Lima’

Because I’m a dancer, auditioning for things can be quite common and all of the older girls at dance say no matter how many times they’ve auditioned for things it never gets less nerve-racking, and every time they feel nervous. So it’s good to know you care when you are nervous, not just because you don’t have the guts to do it.

My Wrap-Up...

When looking back at how I looked at people leaving Merrin, I try to be mostly kind to them, but unfortunately, I cannot control how I will be remembered. I hope everyone has seen a fun part of me and has seen me laugh. Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll be remembered, but if I am, I hope people remember me as a kind person who helped out the school.