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Misheel's Story

My name is Misheel.  I am originally from Mongolia.

I migrated to Australia in 2003 with my Mum and Dad, and my little brother and sister. We came to Brisbane because my Dad was studying for his Master's at Griffith University.

When I first arrived in Brisbane, I had culture shock.

Everything was very clean and regulated.  Even the way we have traffic lights. They beep, it turns green, and then you have to walk. Just very simple things like that were a big culture shock.  I was really excited about the supermarkets. They were massive.  I gained a lot of weight when I first came to Australia, just eating all this food that I'm not used to eating.

Mongolia is one of the biggest countries in the world.

But it has a very small population.

I can describe it as never ending steps, with lots of livestock.  There are many horses and sheep and Mongolia has one of the last living nomadic cultures on Earth.  They still lead the nomadic lifestyle in the countryside.

I am from the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.  It is like any other capital city; very crowded, bad traffic, modern buildings.

The thing I miss most about back home is being with my family, going to the countryside, and the food.

I had to go back to Mongolia in 2006.  I cam back to Australia in 2008 by myself with just a bag of clothes and my passport.  I had to build my life from scratch again.

I am very thankful to my family, friends and my support network who helped me and stood by me throughout my journey since my migration.  It was not easy doing it all on my own without my family and loved ones by my side.

I'm passionate about social work and human justice.

The most important things in my life are my family, my friends, my good health and the work I'm doing.

Right now, I am a case manager at Multicultural Australia, supporting young people from refugee backgrounds in their settlement journey. 

I graduated as a social worker because I'm passionate about human rights and social justice. I'm very grateful to be doing what I'm doing.

My hope for the future is that I keep learning to be present and practice mindfulness. Whether it's with my family and my friends, or anyone I meet on the street, I want to try to make that interaction as meaningful as possible and make as much positive impact in other's lives as I can.

I am a simple down to earth person who likes dancing, salsa and bachata, reading, cooking, camping, spending time with my family and friends and doing anything outdoors in nature.

I am proud of the woman I have become.

One of my greatest achievements in my life is continuing to connect with myself; finding my true self and learning to accept and love myself the way I am in spite of the ups and downs of my life and my journey.

I am proud of the woman I am today; physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

I would like to say Happy International Women's Day to all the resilient, brave girls and women out there.

With a little bit of courage and bravery, you can go to places where you've never imagined you'll get to.

So stay strong, and always believe in yourself.

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians of all the lands on which we meet, work and live and recognise that this land has always been and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.

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Multicultural Australia respects and values Australia’s First Nation peoples’ enormous resilience, courage, determination and often unrecognized contributions to this country’s social and economic development. We walk together in solidarity in the shared pain of the past and with shared hope for the future.