“Kia ora! Do you wanna get to know me? Well, it all started 12 years ago on the 27th of February 2006. I opened my eyes to see this hard yet AMAZING world. Wellington was my home. With my mum Martine Michelle Gray and my dad Christopher Mark Bishop. The name I was given was Evania. It’s a Greek baby name meaning goddess and peaceful.
5 years went by and I was a year 1 starting my first proper school. I was so excited when I first started. I thought it was so much fun until my last year as a year 6, which happened to be the most tiring year of my life because I had stacks of paper piled up in front of me every day.
5 years have passed now and I continue to play netball and softball. Netball has been my passion since I was 8 but I started to play when I was 9. I was in love with goal shoot as soon as I started playing. Some people might think this is impossible but I have scored 24 goals in one game. Crazy right?
Anyway, the other sport I love to play is softball and I started playing in 2016. It was amazing, I grew a very strong passion for the sport. I trained every day after school and even on the weekends. I got put as a catcher because of my ability to catch pitches that were too hard and too fast. It was only my first year playing and I made it into the Wellington under 13 representative team. But I got a really bad knee injury from being catcher for my other team. So I was still allowed to play for reps I just couldn’t play catcher because my knee had swollen up from the impact of the bat against my knee. This is my favourite sport. I will never give this sport up.
Kapa Haka is another strong passion of mine because Kapa Haka is a different way to show my culture. It also makes the Maori culture stronger. Even if you are not Maori you can still be in Kapa Haka. It doesn’t matter what culture you are, you just have to be committed to the group and give your all every week we practice.
I have a strong Maori Identity and love going to performances about the Maori culture. I’m going to tell you about some Maori events that I love to celebrate. My favorite day is Waitangi day. Waitangi day is the day when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. It’s also is a chance for other people to embrace a different culture.
The other Maori event I like to celebrate is Te Matatini, because Te Matatini is where a whole bunch of group perform to get awards. Everything has to be perfect when they perform and everyone has to be giving it their all. It’s one of the best Maori performances ever.
In 2017 I was living with my dad and step mum Jacinta Valeliano Patelesio Bishop. They got married when I was 9. I love spending time with her and getting her to help me with my homework. She is Samoan. I love to learn her culture, I tell people that I am Samoan but really I’m only Maori, Aboriginal and Pakeha. I might not be Samoan by blood but I’m definitely Samoan by heart.
I try to go to church as often as I can with my step mum and her family. Since they are Samoan they are very strongly known for all their beliefs. We celebrate White Sunday at our church. It is a day where the kids get lollies and presents and all the kids get spoiled. I love this day so much because we get to perform in front of all the adults and we get to have fun with all the other kids. White Sunday is a day where Samoans celebrate children’s day.
This year is 2018 and it is my last year before college. I intend to push myself this year to accomplish more goals and achieve more in school to prepare myself for college. This is going to be my most challenging year but I will get through it and be the best I can this year and next year when I’m at college”.
By Eva
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