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My biggest dream? I have two. I always dreamed that one day, after finishing school, I will open my own vintage sneaker store. I have a pretty impressive sneaker collection already. My parents help me order them online or buy them in stores. So far, my most prized item is a pair of Jordans. I don’t know if it’s the most valuable, but it’s the one I love most. My other big dream is to represent my country in the Olympic Games as a long-distance runner"
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But most of all, I love it for the true community spirit it has always shown. It is a small school therefore we get to know each other and care about each other.
I am proud to say, I have seen this community united by many different circumstances; some more trying than others.
On several occasions, these wonderful people showed humanity at its best while supporting Mr. A. - one of the school’s most loved teachers – and his family.
All of us wished to assist and comfort when his son met with a serious accident while skydiving.
All of us wished to assist and comfort when his son met with a serious accident while skydiving.
We felt the anguish of the long months spent in the hospital and we followed closely Elijah’s recovery steps. We beamed with pride when he carried the Queen's Baton through Canberra, ahead of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. And we know that it is just a matter of time until he will fulfil his dream of running again.
I asked Elijah to be a sitter in my project because I wanted him to be known for the truly gifted teenager he is, for his vision and for his sheer determination.
- “When I was little, I wanted to be an NRL player for the Manley Sea Eagles. After that, I fell in love with basketball. Then, a lot of years later, I fell in love with running. I was in year 2 when I started to play basketball and I have always liked running. But in year 7 I made it in the ACT cross country team. I was 12 or 13 years old when I had my running streak; I ran for 426 days in a row. Every day, I would run a minimum of one mile (1.6km) and the furthest was about 20Km. Then one day I pulled a hamstring and I had to stop for a while.
I cannot remember what my first favourite book was, we were trying to discuss this in the car, on the way to the interview, but I always loved reading Greek Mythology stories with my family. I love the story of Icarus.
Another thing that I used to love was making up stories with dad while we went on walks.
My favourite book now is Rafael Nadal’s autobiography.
My biggest dream? I have two. I always dreamed that one day, after finishing school, I will open my own vintage sneaker store.
I have a pretty impressive sneaker collection already. My parents help me order them online or buy them in stores. So far, my most prized item is a pair of Jordans. I don’t know if it’s the most valuable, but it’s the one I love most.
My other big dream is to represent my country in the Olympic Games as a long-distance runner".
One of the things I ask my sitters is to define themselves by answering the question “Who are you now”?
- "Right now, I am an almost 17 years old boy on a mission to get back on my feet and run again. I find my motivation in knowing that the situation I am in will not be forever.
In five years’ time, I see myself back on track, fulfilling my dream of running again. The sneaker shop will have to be a bit later, it will take a bit of time to set it up and I don’t see it happening so soon.
I asked Elijah to be a sitter in my project because I wanted him to be known for the truly gifted teenager he is, for his vision and for his sheer determination.
- “When I was little, I wanted to be an NRL player for the Manley Sea Eagles. After that, I fell in love with basketball. Then, a lot of years later, I fell in love with running. I was in year 2 when I started to play basketball and I have always liked running. But in year 7 I made it in the ACT cross country team. I was 12 or 13 years old when I had my running streak; I ran for 426 days in a row. Every day, I would run a minimum of one mile (1.6km) and the furthest was about 20Km. Then one day I pulled a hamstring and I had to stop for a while.
I cannot remember what my first favourite book was, we were trying to discuss this in the car, on the way to the interview, but I always loved reading Greek Mythology stories with my family. I love the story of Icarus.
Another thing that I used to love was making up stories with dad while we went on walks.
My favourite book now is Rafael Nadal’s autobiography.
My biggest dream? I have two. I always dreamed that one day, after finishing school, I will open my own vintage sneaker store.
I have a pretty impressive sneaker collection already. My parents help me order them online or buy them in stores. So far, my most prized item is a pair of Jordans. I don’t know if it’s the most valuable, but it’s the one I love most.
My other big dream is to represent my country in the Olympic Games as a long-distance runner".
One of the things I ask my sitters is to define themselves by answering the question “Who are you now”?
- "Right now, I am an almost 17 years old boy on a mission to get back on my feet and run again. I find my motivation in knowing that the situation I am in will not be forever.
In five years’ time, I see myself back on track, fulfilling my dream of running again. The sneaker shop will have to be a bit later, it will take a bit of time to set it up and I don’t see it happening so soon.
If I had 15 minutes of fame, I would like to tell all children and young people in the world that nothing is forever and you always have to keep your head high and look forward to the future.
My first role model was Steve 'the Beaver' Menzies who played his entire career at Manly. Now I have many more role models. They are all very different people and they inspire me for different reasons: First and foremost, it’s Tony, the man who saved my life. Then there are other people I look up to; one of them is Macklemore, who is my favourite rap artist.
Sometimes I do a bit of rapping by myself but I don’t think I would do it in front of an audience. Before my accident I used to play guitar and sing a little bit.
Other role models are a couple of NBA players such as Kobe Briant and Ben Simmons. I always loved playing basketball – that is my other passion".
Is there a special place where Elijah feels at peace, where he feels he is himself?
- "Before the accident, I used to find my peace in running. Nowadays, I feel that I am at peace while looking in a sports shoe store".
I asked Elijah to choose one word to describe himself. He smiled:
My first role model was Steve 'the Beaver' Menzies who played his entire career at Manly. Now I have many more role models. They are all very different people and they inspire me for different reasons: First and foremost, it’s Tony, the man who saved my life. Then there are other people I look up to; one of them is Macklemore, who is my favourite rap artist.
Sometimes I do a bit of rapping by myself but I don’t think I would do it in front of an audience. Before my accident I used to play guitar and sing a little bit.
Other role models are a couple of NBA players such as Kobe Briant and Ben Simmons. I always loved playing basketball – that is my other passion".
Is there a special place where Elijah feels at peace, where he feels he is himself?
- "Before the accident, I used to find my peace in running. Nowadays, I feel that I am at peace while looking in a sports shoe store".
I asked Elijah to choose one word to describe himself. He smiled:
- "Can I use two, please? Big Dreamer, that’s how I would describe myself”.
One of the set questions I ask my sitters while we map out their stories is whether they have any regrets. In Elijah’s case, I thought it was a question I would skip, but on the completion of our interview, he confessed in a very candid way that it was the question he was looking forward to answering:
- "I do have regrets: first of all, I regret deciding to skip Little Athletics that morning and to go watch my cousin sky diving. Second of all, I do regret deciding to sky dive that day".
But Elijah is not one to dwell on regrets; he is motivated to keep going. I asked him how he felt, carrying the Queen's baton.
One of the set questions I ask my sitters while we map out their stories is whether they have any regrets. In Elijah’s case, I thought it was a question I would skip, but on the completion of our interview, he confessed in a very candid way that it was the question he was looking forward to answering:
- "I do have regrets: first of all, I regret deciding to skip Little Athletics that morning and to go watch my cousin sky diving. Second of all, I do regret deciding to sky dive that day".
But Elijah is not one to dwell on regrets; he is motivated to keep going. I asked him how he felt, carrying the Queen's baton.
- "I felt proud to have been chosen and so amazed by the number of people who came out to support me.
It motivates me to try harder and I hope they get inspired too".
It motivates me to try harder and I hope they get inspired too".
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| Elijah, pictured with his parents, Robin and José |
