About 'Footsteps'
I’m not sure where to start, but let’s try this.
It seems to me that there are very few things we experience in our lives that haven’t been experienced before. Of course the specific details might be unique to us as individuals, but the type of experience, the emotions, the thought processes etc. seem to be repeated across gender, culture, generation...
Today I’m on a plane to Turkey, Chaperoning the NZ Youth Delegation to the WWI Centenary Commemorations. We are 32 excited, optimistic, passionate young people heading off around the world, proud to represent our country. We are going to commemorate all the excited, optimistic, passionate young people who have have taken off around the world, proud to represent our country.
The 25 ‘NZ Youth Ambassadors’, as they are known, are really truly remarkable. Aged 16-19, they arrived here through 6 different channels and, without being too specific, I honestly believe they represent the full spectrum of young people in New Zealand.
Before our departure we spent some time sharing our stories with each other.
- What are you ‘world famous’ for back home? (Good, bad or ugly)
- What’s a challenge that you’ve overcome that you’re really proud of? How did you feel afterwards?
What emerged from these conversations was bunch of keywords / themes / lessons that I suspect could have equally been written 100 years ago:
- Finding yourself at a ‘cross road’ with unexpected things to process. Accepting something isn’t right but that you have to keep moving
- Finding an ‘outlet’, creativity, and selflessness
- Reaching out to others - unity
- Perseverance / ‘sticking it out’ - emotional / mental strength got us through
- Stretching outside your bubble, finding balance, creating yourself
100 years ago, around 100,000 young New Zealanders loaded onto ships to go across the world on an adventure, absolutely unaware and often unprepared for what they were to face. Their excitement seems, to me, as invigorating as the events that unfolded were devastating. The Gallipoli Peninsula, whilst relatively small in the scheme of wars, remains one of the largest cemeteries on the planet. I’m not sure if I’m prepared for this.
This week we tread ngā tapuwae, the footsteps of these young people. Their blood courses in our veins, their stories fill our hearts and their contributions allowed us to live.
We will commemorate their lives, their losses, their loved ones. We will commemorate their passion, their sense of adventure, their experiences. We will commemorate their humanity. Their spirit. And we are part of their legacy that lives on in every service man and woman, every ancestor, every person proud to say they are a small flightless bird from a beautiful corner of the South Pacific. We are forever in their debt, lest we forget.
You can follow the journey of the NZ Youth Ambassadors to Gallipoli here. We are committed to sharing these stories and experiences once we return home, get it touch via the Facebook page if you’d like one of us to visit your group.