Above: Jenna Lee (Larrakia artist, Gilimbaa)
Positive Choices
Phillipa (13 years), NSW
Why are positive choices important? I believe that positive choices are important as they can lead to amazing things like for example my grandmother. I look up to my grandmother as she has faced a lot of hard things in her lifetime. She also influenced me in choosing to come to Sydney to continue in my education.
My grandmother grew up in the bush. She lived a traditional life, like hunting for food, living in a little humpy and doing tradition ceremonies like bush camp. In 1957 Lapi Lapi Mitjili had her first encounter with Europeans as part of the Donald Thompson Expedition. At that time Mitjili was expecting her second child to her husband Tjiti Tjiti Tjupurrla, who was the traditional owner of Kiwikurra. Soon after this Mitjii and her family moved to their homeland in Emu Bore, west of Pupanya. After this they moved to Walangurru. Finally she settled down and started painting different stories like the Tingari Cycle. She made the positive choice of taking her art seriously and became well known for her unique style of art. She became famous around Australia. As a result of these choices she has made a lot of money, and has had opportunities to act in films like Samson and Delilah and Nana. if my Mitjili didn't move to Walangurru my parents wouldn’t have met.
My grandmother is my inspiration as she influenced me to come to Sydney to continue my education at Meriden School. Like my grandmother I walked from a world I knew into a world that was unfamiliar to me. I came from Alice Springs were it is small, quiet and remote to busy, loud and crowded Sydney. Like Mitjili, i was overwhelmed when I first came to Sydney. I wasn’t used to people invading my personal space, the huge buildings and the congested traffic. Alice is quiet; with less people, and more of nature all around. You can even see the Mcdonald Ranges from anywhere in town.
Sydney at first was very exciting. I got involved in all sorts of sports like netball, touch football and. However, the next year was harder because the work was difficult and I got more and more of it. I wasn’t used to this as we didn’t get much work at my primary school in Alice. It was also hard getting used to new carers in the House. I felt very tired and discouraged. I wished I could go back to Alice Springs. But this year I have persevered and made a decision to keep on going with school in Sydney. I made this decision because I knew that in the long term it would benefit me. I could get good jobs in the future. I am the first one in my family to leave home to go to school. Even though it has been hard, I think it has been a good decision.
Even though Mitjili wasn’t alive when I came to Sydney, I think she would be proud of me. She would see that her grand daughter is just like her. That she had courage to do something difficult just as she did back in 1957 when she first encountered her first white people.