Member-only story
About Me — Justine McGrath
Too many goodbyes taught me resilience and empathy
Early Life
I was born in a tiny town called Chingola in Zambia, Central Africa. The first nine years of my life were spent living in a country with the most fabulous climate. Beautiful sunshine, rarely humid, and even in the rainy season, it remained warm.
Long days spent swimming, playing outside in our bare feet, and loving life. When I was nine I was sent to boarding school in Northern Ireland. Both my parents were from Belfast. It was quite the culture shock as you can imagine. This was in 1980 during ‘The Troubles.’ I looked back at an old diary entry written when I was nine and it said:
“Bobby Sands is on hunger strike and I think they are going to blow up Belfast.”
I don’t think I even understood what I was writing.
Boarding school nearly killed me, but ultimately saved me. As a painfully shy child, I learnt to observe and adapt. Over time I found my tribe. Sports also saved me. I enjoyed playing hockey and swimming and made friends with girls on the hockey team and those who also loved swimming.
I grew in confidence and resilience. I traveled back and forth to Zambia during the school holidays. I was an expert traveler by the time I was 12!
