Choosing to Live
There were friends and whanau in my life that didn’t make it beyond their teens.
For some it was suicide, for others it was accidents. Well the report said accidents. Some were obviously accidents, others weren’t so clear. Each loss was a tragedy. Their memories have lived on in those that they left behind, those like me.
I chose to live for them.
There were times when I didn’t want to. When I wanted to end it all, but then I would start thinking about those who had gone. Some of them had had struggles, they hadn’t been heard and they had been rejected by society. We had been outcasts together.
Many thought that I would follow in their footsteps, however I chose to fight on and represent them. Their deaths fuelled me with an anger not to give up, not to back down. To face the struggles, hardship and rejection straight on and to push forward, for them. To have a good life for them.
Their lives, their stories spur me on.
I put myself front and centre. I speak out and work to address the issues in society that plagued our young lives, so that others like us, will find their way through. To live as a light. I have done it for them, for my whanau and for the rejected, abused child within me. These have been the driving forces behind my work, Warrior Kids, my books, my talks.
This is why you see me.
With love
Tim
Check out my book White Moko
First published on Facebook and Linkedin July 11, 2021.
Copyright© Tim Tipene, 2021.