I created this painting for my beautiful friend, Dr Sam Iti Prendergast, to mark the defence of her PhD at the end of April this year. The upoko whakairo incorporates locally sourced sand and acrylic paint on a wooden panel and is a depiction of our kuia and keeper of mātauranga, Hine-nui-te-pō. Her tears and hupe reflect both joy when we eventually reunite with our kuia, as well as the pain and laughter we experience during our doctoral journeys. I initially reached for hot pink and sparkly paint, but got aunty-slapped quite quickly by ngā tīpuna and ngā atua. When I chose to put my ego aside and listen, I was instead guided towards the beautiful, earthy colours that more aptly reflect the amazing Maniapoto recipient of this piece. Unsurprisingly, communicating with my tīpuna has opened up areas of my creative writing that might have otherwise remained obscure. The lessons of this kōrero: Toi is rongoā! Listen to your tīpuna!