Australian | Papuan | Chinese
I moved to London from Australia in the middle of the pandemic and two years later I'm moving to France. I haven't seen my family in nearly three years and I don't know when I will next, but it hasn't stopped me from doing what I want.
My Mum is from outback Australia. My Dad is from Papua New Guinea. How they met is the world's biggest mystery, I'm told through friends.
To be honest, I grew up ‘White’. I lived in a small, conservative town. I used to call myself a 'coconut'. I dreamed of marrying someone with the surname 'Bentley' or any Anglo Saxon name I romanticised as regal. And I hated people thinking of me as Asian or when they'd be shocked by my occa accent. I cringe now thinking about it but all throughout high school I wore mismatched pink-based foundation and would limit my time in the sun. Now I can't stay out of the sun and the tanner, the better.
In university, I became proud of my heritage. It took 20 or so years. I remember the day Australian-Asian model Jessica Gomes was named brand ambassador of David Jones. I thought, as Mindy Kaling said, 'why not me?'. She is my role model. I then learned celebrity people of colour, especially then, do tend to be the exception to the rule but gosh the world has changed so much in just those short nine years. Australia loves Blonde beach babes but their reign is ending.
I think being mixed-race is a superpower. I love that I can sink a pint in an outback Australian pub and get the lingo but I also feel completely at home in a city like Hong Kong. And I love that when I'm in the sun, my skin, body and soul thrives. My hair starts to curl ever so lightly, blemishes on my face fade and my soul is on fire. I'm also as island girl as island girl comes.
I work as a broadcast journalist so I'm actively trying to be part of the change. It's something I'm extremely passionate about after being told in University that there were only certain broadcasters I could probably work for. I tend to seek out films, TV and books with a person of colour/woman of colour lead. Sometimes it makes me feel a little 'reverse racist' but until there's a fairer playing ground, I think that's just my thing. For example, I can't bring myself to even watch one episode of Emily in Paris. I'm so over the quirky Asian best friend trope. If Ashley Park was Emily I probably would.
I celebrate Chinese New Year and PNG Independence and I'm fiercely proud of how beautiful Australia is while acknowledging its First Nations People. I think being a proud Australian first and foremost is being an ally to those who came first. Always Was. Always Will Be. I cry all the time, but never about my identity and who I am.