This article will explore my experiences as a young person becoming a global citizen, writes Fahima Ahmadi of Logan Park High School.
The first challenge and difficulty I faced was fleeing my home country, sweet Afghanistan. I escaped with my family from the Taliban at the age of 4.
I don't remember anything about the place that I still call home. But all I know was that we had to leave our home town because of the conditions of my country. The war caused my country to be ruined and without help.
It was particularly hard for my mother to have lived her whole life in Afghanistan and have been brought up there and suddenly have to leave her country due to the dangerous environment of her home.
I am very thankful to my mother and I admire her courage, strength and her determination. Because of the vision she had for us, we were set for a journey to freedom.
We relocated to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The city was hot but beautiful. After spending two wonderful years in Malaysia we decided to move to New Zealand; the country of spectacular nature and a peaceful environment.
In my six years of living in Christchurch I basically learnt my English there and started getting used to the traditions and cultures of New Zealand.
I also became a New Zealand Citizen and received my citizenship after the first five years of living in Christchurch. Then my mother decided that it would be a great idea to go and live in Australia for couple of years for a new change.
We ended up living in Melbourne for four years. Due to some sudden changes in our lives we all ended up moving back to New Zealand again but we came to a different city, Dunedin.
The first few years of living in these western countries were a bit challenging. We had to adjust to the new traditions and cultures of New Zealand and Australia. It was especially challenging for my elders because it was so different to what they had grown up with.
We had small complications with fashion and modesty, because of the fact that in Afghanistan the majority of women cover up the whole body by making sure that the arms and legs are covered and of course not forgetting to wear a hijab, (headscarf).
Whereas in New Zealand the general public has an obvious display of free style in the way they wear their clothing.
Another thing that was different to our country was education in general; for example there is a bigger range of educational opportunities in New Zealand, because Afghanistan doesn't have many resources now due to the war. However in Afghanistan there are still very good universities available such as the Doshisha, Ghazni, Parwan, Badakhshan, Kundoz and the Faryab universities in Afghanistan.
We obviously found the food very different to Afghan food but we all enjoy the different taste and it is always great to have something diverse.
Despite living in Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand most of my life, I am still proud to say that I am from Afghanistan.
I am glad that I haven't forgotten where I am from or my culture and traditions.
Hopefully I will be able to get a chance to go and visit my country once again.
