(Mia is sitting in a park outside, speaking slightly off to the side of the camera)


- I can't be the first person to make it to uni and then be the first person to drop out as well. That's so embarrassing. 

(A title graphic appears on the centre of the screen that reads: Anisha talks about PRESSURE)

(As Anisha introduces herself, another small graphic appears on the bottom left of the screen that reads: Anisha Damaso 21, Larrakia/Yanyuwa/Malak-Malak)

My name's Anisha Damaso. My mobs are Larrakia, Yanyuwa and Malak-Malak, which are all around the top end of the Northern Territory. 

I was a bit of a outsider I guess, so everyone else was kind of just cruisin' along and I was like stressing the whole time. I definitely carry that pressure with me every day, feel it every time something gets a little bit hard and I wanna quit. It's probably both pressure and motivation and I remind myself that it's not just me that I'm doing this for, you know, Mum and Dad, family, they're all very proud of me. I don't wanna let them down. But they're also so chill in the same sense where they're like, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. Like if it gets too hard, you can always come home. They just want me to be happy pretty much. And I guess the pressures almost, I put it on myself. 

My mum and dad and my family were all like around me to support when it came to feeling anxious and scared. But when it came to the actual academic side of things, I think that's where a lot of the pressure came from. My mum and dad didn't know what was going on with my assignments, so I think I'm the first person to make it even to Year 12. Year 10 is I think as far as either of my parents made it, they couldn't really help me I guess, 'cause they didn't know and they tried their best. Like my dad would always be making a cuppa for me and sit and watching TV and staying up late. Even though he had work in the morning. 

I didn't really get to see anyone do the whole move away and go to uni thing. So I think now that I'm doing it, it's gonna make it just a little bit easier for my nephews, my niece, my little cousins. Everyone at home they can see that it is actually achievable. It's not that big and scary because I did it and seeing someone that you know, or someone that looks like you do something makes it so much easier 'cause you're like, oh, I can do that.