Coco

What would you spend $50 

Oh, bras! I never find bras that are perfect in every way…

What’s one word you would use to sum up how you’re feeling about the future?

Provoking. It’s exciting but there are so many questions! I’m going to do a year of Uni, then go to Europe for a year, then I have no plans. So now I am like, what am I doing? Should I stay in Europe? Should I abandon everything? My anxious brain needs a plan. It’s exciting but scary. 

What’s your life story so far? 

Dad’s from Tokoroa, his Mum’s Dutch. Mum is from Te Puke, she’s a dairy girl. Mum and Dad had my sister before they were married, and then they got married and I came along about 3 years later? And when I was 7 my little brother came along as a surprise baby… Last year of primary school I hit a bit of a milestone – I got depressed.

Can you describe what that was like?

It wasn’t a deep depression, I just felt tired and sad all the time. I’d always been anxious, it morphed into panic attacks. I’d shake, I wouldn’t sit still, I’d cry…I’d be having them every night as well as depressive episodes. I’m medicated now which makes it a lot better though

Is this quite a common thing for eighteen year olds?

Yes, 100%. It’s not always as common for it to be as obvious. I saw it in my year at school, signs of light depression and anxiety. It’s not that they necessarily have anxiety but they show anxious behaviour. It’s different for everyone as to why it happens. 18 is scary and expensive, and there’s this idea with Uni that you get one shot and you have to get it right. You have to know what you want. It’s like you have to bungee jump but you don’t have your rope all sorted out yet. And someone’s pushing you saying, “Jump!! 18? your childhood’s over! Go to Uni!” 

Is there a lot of pressure to go to Uni?

Oh yeah, it feels like the only option. And people don’t take gap years. There’s so much fear if you take a gap year then you won’t get back, you’ll just stay on a gap year forever and never go to Uni. It feels like life starts at Uni, you get your degree and then your career. There’s so many misconceptions though, we all act like we’re going to get a degree and life will be fabulous. But you don’t have to get a degree to do what you want to do…

What does success look like for you?

Getting a job, going to uni, being either single and loving it or happily in a long term relationship. But it also feels like there’s not much space for difficult questions about life. Or for working things out. For instance, like I kinda know I’m bisexual but there’s also big question marks and I’m still working all of that out.

Do you think young people are expected to do everything these days?

Yeah! It’s like Jenga, there’s only so much you can put on it before it falls! There’s so many things I’m supposed to do. I should be running, doing shoots, editing, having a healthy lifestyle, taking the dog to the beach, meeting a partner, be at Uni, working, seeing friends…And also there’s like sixteen year olds in America who are famous! They are younger than me and they’re famous! We could be happy but there’s always someone happier. 

What’s your least favourite part about Gen Zers?

I don’t like that we’re consumeristic. We don’t need new phones, but my generation grew up in a place of peak technology. It became a lifestyle thing. And social media comes into that with all the products and lifestyles and sponsored posts. It’s their lifestyle that we want. Ironically we have tech in the palm of our hands but we actually don’t talk about how we feel. We don’t talk about anything really, everyone bottles stuff up and says they’re fine 

What’s the most pressing issues facing young women today?

I think feminist issues. Like, why can’t I walk down the street at night and not worry someone isn’t going to rape me? Why can’t I wear a lowcut shirt and not get hassled for it? And what if I got pregnant, why should I have to get permission from a doctor to get an abortion? And my guy friends don’t get the violence we’re facing and the aggression. 

What’s your dream idea of future success as an adult?

I used to say, “I want to be a zookeeper and get married!” But now my ideal super successful dream world is me living in New York, editing a magazine, and maybe something romantic but that doesn’t define success