My Tauhara College Journey

To everyone reading this, hello. My name is Natasha Rive, I have autism, and I have had an amazing journey at Tauhara College. It was filled with ups and downs, and I would like to share it all with you.

I started at Tauhara College in the year 2015. When I started, I was quite nervous and shy. I felt like I was going to mess things up, but fortunately Mrs Pointon and Mrs Pilkinton, who are the teachers at the Whare Mahana (SNU) let me stay here, which was really nice of them. I had to work on my time management skills, managing my emotions, thinking about other people’s points of view, and not talking about just one thing all the time. Looking back on it now makes me feel a bit weird. But a few years later, in 2018 my teachers gave me the chance to do NCEA Level One, and joining the mainstream school for the first time, and again and I was quite nervous at first and only wanted to do the same kind of drawings all the time, however when I joined art, it opened my mind to all these new ideas of art that I could do, so it was a success, however I still needed to work on my time management, which meant that I needed to not be late for the taxi when it was time to go home and I still need to work on it now. And I also had to work on the fact that I could not always get the help I wanted because other people needed it as well. However I had completed NCEA Level One. Then in 2020, I did NCEA Level Two, but this was the year that COVID-19 had started, and because it was NCEA Level Two, the work was also a bit harder to do, and due to COVID everyone at Tauhara College, the whole country in fact, had to go into lockdown, but I pulled through and did as much school work as I could, I made 4 friends in art and hospitality along the way, they were very nice to me and helped me come out of my shell and I also learned about love for the first time, and that it is not what it is like in the movies. Then I had completed NCEA Level Two, and I thought that was a busy year until I did NCEA Level Three this year. Another lockdown happened earlier this year, but fortunately it wasn’t as long as it was the year before, and I still have been working on not getting distracted by the internet while I work, and more time management, I also made 4 more friends this year and they also have a bit of autism as well, just like I do, which I think is really cool. I also did the license to work programme, which taught me what it is like to go to work, I also completed that, which I am very proud of. I also did the Hair, Beauty, and Retail course at Toi Ohomai in Rotorua, which meant that I had to get ready really early in the morning and catch a bus to get there. That course taught me a lot about doing people’s hair, and how to sell products and encourage people to buy things you sell, and also a bit more about makeup. Now I completed NCEA Level Three, and I’m a lot more confident and mature than I was when I first started here and I am also a helpful role model. My dream is to become a makeup artist, and I’m now deciding what I should do next year, in my next chapter of life.