I was born in the 1980s, when many activists fought for the revitalisation of the Māori language. Because of their work, I had the advantage of a father who, although he was Pākehā, was learning te reo Māori at polytechnic. Because of this, I could speak some te reo Māori before I could read in English. I was then lucky enough to receive a bilingual education at primary school, and I continued to study te reo Māori at secondary school and then at university. I'm learning still.