Elkington: Why I refuse the status quo
Image: Jacquelyn Elkington is shown smiling in a studio portrait, an image that accompanies her reflections on growing up in South Auckland, navigating education and identity. She rediscovers her pride in Māori heritage through overseas study, later returning to champion critical thinking in Aotearoa New Zealand. (Supplied / thisquality / Quiet Pact Network)
Such a thoughtful and candid reflection, Jacquelyn.
Your piece weaves together personal history, cultural identity, education, family, and civic engagement.
While readers on this platform may not all arrive at the same conclusions, we want to be clear that this space exists for a wide range of perspectives expressed in good faith. We value robust discussion and the opportunity to encounter experiences that challenge or broaden our own ideas. We appreciate how you frame education as something shaped by lived experience and how you foreground dialogue over easy consensus.
Your reflections on family and returning home to champion culture on the whenua add a grounded and hopeful note to the wider questions you raise about society and purpose.
Thank you for bringing your voice to this platform and inviting readers into your story.
We look forward to the the next conversations you spark.
Awesome love…proud of