Being a migrant has shaped me tremendously. Arriving in Australia with my family at the age of five, I barely knew a word of English. Starting school that way was no easy feat. I was a shy kid with a competitive streak, my brother was the outgoing one.

Mum speaks several languages but at home we would only speak English. At first, this was out of necessity to learn the language. But soon it became almost an obsession for me to conquer new words and sentences.

English would become one of my favourite subjects at school and years later it would guide me towards a career in journalism.