Justice King has made her way home to Mount Isa after being named the Queensland Young Achiever of the Year on the weekend.
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Despite the accolades that Ms King has achieved, she insists that she is a regular 18-year-old and strives to keep balance in all aspects of her life.
“I’m a normal teenager, and all I’m doing is trying to make a change.
“I believe that what I’m doing is making me happy,” Ms King said.
Like any teenager put on the centre stage, Ms King said she was a bundle of nerves before the award ceremony.
“When I won my category, I was very overwhelmed, and to win the state one… I freaked,” she laughed.
The 18-year-old said she didn’t go to the Young Achiever Awards expecting to win.
“I never expected to succeed this far or have the acknowledgement on the level I did while I was there.
“Looking at what everyone else has achieved and is achieving… there were so many other people that were worthy of the award,” she said.
The youth ambassador said she was adamant to relax now that award season was over.
“People have asked me what’s next, and I said I’m going to take a break.
This year I was supposed to not do anything, I was supposed to just chill,” she said.
The act of ‘just chilling’ isn’t exactly second nature for the hardworking teenager, but she said she had a few tricks up her sleeve.
“What do I do to unwind?
“Like a normal teenager I go out, I party, I make inappropriate jokes.
“When I was younger I used to skate, my biggest hobby is paintballing, I used to draw, I love singing – I’m not good at it, but I love it – and just living,” Ms King said.
Between working, paintballing, and spending time with family, Ms King is also preparing to move towns to go to James Cook University.
She said the move to the coast wouldn’t take her heart out of the Isa.
Ms King said she planned to return to her home town as much as possible to continue her work on mental health care for rural youth.
“A lot of people have invested in me because I’m rural,” Ms King said.
“I’ve been a part of the Grow QLD Forum, I’m going to be part of a national suicide convention, I’ve just won this award.
“Mount Isa has been so supportive of me, everyone in Mount Isa.
“Now, realising that I made a big change in this community, I feel that the more I come back and the more I focus on our community in Mount Isa, the more we’ll be able to make it better.”
