Written piece
“A heartfelt poem reflecting my journey…”
Rebecca Tuitasi-Chadwick
Samoa
About this piece
A heartfelt poem reflecting my journey as a Samoan woman shaped by loss, resilience, education, faith, marriage, motherhood, and perseverance. Through grief and hardship, I continue to carry my thread of strength, culture, hope, and survival.
“The Thread I Carry”
I was born the seventh child
in a family of seven hearts,
woven together by faith, music, laughter,
and the strength of Samoa’s sacred roots.
My father carried melodies in his hands,
a musician whose songs filled our home
like gentle ocean winds at dusk.
My mother carried storms in her spirit;
strong, resilient, unshaken,
the kind of woman who held a family together
even when life tried to pull it apart.
I was only ten
when death knocked on our door
and took my father away.
The music faded.
The world became heavier.
And somewhere inside a little girl,
a dream quietly shattered.
But school became my refuge.
Books became my shelter.
Education became the road
I clung to when grief tried to drown me.
In 1998,
I walked through the gates
of one of Samoa’s highest colleges,
carrying more pain than confidence,
yet determined to rise.
For four years, I studied,
not because life was easy,
but because I refused to let hardship define me.
Blessed with another opportunity,
I continued into tertiary studies,
holding tightly to the belief
that tomorrow could still be brighter.
Then love arrived.
In 2004,
I married the man I called my soulmate.
I believed marriage would become my safe place,
my resting shore after years of storms.
But life does not always unfold
the way young hearts imagine.
Responsibilities multiplied.
Silent battles grew louder.
Stress settled deeply into my bones.
And somewhere along the journey,
high blood pressure became part of my story;
a reminder that even strong women bleed quietly.
Still… I kept going.
Because Samoan women are taught
to endure.
To carry families, burdens, traditions,
and prayers all at once.
We smile through exhaustion.
We serve through heartbreak.
We stand even when trembling inside.
And so I stand.
Not because the road was gentle,
but because every broken piece
became another thread
in the quilt of my life.
I am the daughter of music and resilience.
The child who survived loss.
The woman who turned pain into perseverance.
The mother, wife, dreamer, and fighter
still learning to heal while carrying others.
My thread is not perfect.
It is stitched with grief, sacrifice, hope,
faith, culture, and survival.
But it is mine.
And from the shores of Samoa,
I offer my thread to the Commonwealth,
a story of endurance,
a song of quiet strength,
and proof that even wounded hearts
can still create beauty.