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"The process of construction and log building and all these other little things that he
would get me to do, like stripping the bark, all went into my mind and then led me into
getting into woodworking and a drafting program in high school."
Her high school class led her to wanting to be a carpenter at first, but eventually decided
into looking at buildings and "wanting to go for something bigger."
But the journey towards her success hasn't always been an easy one. Since around high
school, Merasty says she lacked self-confidence, didn't feel like she "belonged anywhere"
and "didn't feel confident in being Native."
"The one thing that really helped me was being around and meeting other people that
have experienced the same things that I did."
Re-connecting with her culture has been a huge help for her as well, and finding those
resources in the city has helped her for the past few years. Merasty's mental health is
still something she keeps in check and uses health and fitness as something that keeps
her grounded.
Today, she would tell her former, insecure self to speak about it [feelings] and not to
"keep everything to yourself."
"That's one thing that I used to do all the time. I didn't, I wasn't taught to speak out. I wasn't
taught to speak about my feelings," says Merasty.
"I feel like that's something that a lot of our youth should be doing and not keeping to
themselves because I feel like that's really harmful in the long run."
And for students heading into post-secondary, her advice is to utilize every single resource
offered.
"There's so many people that you can connect with that have experienced the same
thing that you have."
Watch the Future Pathways Fireside Chats video interview with Dallas at
https://www.firesidechats.ca/video/reanna-merasty
