Lauren Shaw spends her Tuesday nights and Saturdays working for her grandparents’ Cook Island takeaway shop called TANZ Ktchn in South Auckland’s Ōtara. She’s either frying doughnuts at the Auckland night markets or working at the shop.

The 16-year-old does all this while juggling school. As she’s nearing the end of high school, her family and school are encouraging her to think about the future and she’s got a decision to make - stay with the family business or follow her own dreams.

She's not sure if she would take over her grandparents' business but the thought makes her emotional because of how important they are to her. 

While her parents give her a choice on whether or not she works, she says she does feel the pressure. 

Lauren’s featured in The Spinoff’s latest season of Takeout Kids, and Re: News journalist Vivien Beduya asked her what this all means for her.

Lauren Shaw has a decision to make - keep working in her grandparents’ shop or follow her dreams. (Photo: Takeout Kids, The Spinoff)

Vivien: What’s a day-in-a-life like for you as a teenager with work and school? 

Lauren: I work on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

I'm very introverted and very much a homebody, so I like to stay home a lot. I don't really like to go out as much.

It's usually just school, have a few chats after school for a little bit with my friends and then come straight home.

On Saturdays, it’s just going straight into work as well. It’s basically the whole day. I probably get into work at like 10 to 11 [in the morning]. Then I don't really finish until about midnight.

On Tuesdays, it's school, home and then straight into work. I'll either go to the shop or go to the market around 4:00 or 5:00 pm and then finish at [midnight].

Vivien: What do you love the most about working with your family?

I know a lot of people don't really get to see their grandparents often.

Working with my family, I just like to see them because of [our] living situation now, because I live apart from my grandparents. 

But now that we live separately, it's easier to appreciate what we have, and the time we have with them.

So, I think that's something that I really like and I really love about working … Like when no one's watching us, the games that we play and [the] amount of fun that we have. 

Lauren Shaw frying doughnuts with her grandmother at the Auckland night markets. (Photo: Takeout Kids, The Spinoff)

Vivien: What do you find the most challenging about working so closely with your family?

Lauren: I guess sometimes we struggle to understand each other. With school as well, when I work sometimes I wish I could have more study time, especially with the exam season coming up. 

Vivien: How different do you think your classmates’ lives who don’t go to work are? 

Lauren: When I talk to some of them I have a really big realisation that my life is completely different to theirs. 

They don't have to worry about work in general, because I know a lot of my friends don't work, and so when I talk about work, they’re just sitting there, like they don't really understand it the way I do. 

I can't really put into words how different I think it is. I just know there is a very big difference between my life and theirs.

It's usually their decision on whether or not they work. That's basically how it is most of the time when I do have conversations with them about work.

Vivien: What are your dreams after school? 

Lauren: I don't really want to go straight into uni. After school, I want to travel. 

Even though I love to stay [at] home, I want to see more of the world, especially with my cousin, because I think it'll be fun.

But after we travel, I do want to study tourism because travelling is something I really enjoy. I'd rather go into something I really enjoy than learn about something I wouldn't.

Vivien: What do your parents think about your dreams? 

Lauren: Mum definitely likes it, because it’s something we talked about a lot, what I want to do after school.

I’m usually avoiding the question a lot of the time. So she enjoys the fact that I’m exploring the world and finding confidence in it. 

Dad, I think he’s just like, “Do whatever you want. If it makes you happy, it makes you happy.”

Lauren Shaw is featured in The Spinoff’s second season of the Takeout Kids. (Photo: Takeout Kids, The Spinoff)

Vivien: What did you learn about yourself while filming Takeout Kids?

Lauren: Filming Takeout Kids was definitely an experience and while filming it, I learned opportunities like this don't come often, sometimes never. 

My dad had brought it up to me and I was like, “Oh no, don't want to do it, maybe pass it on to somebody else”.

But when we had our conversations about [it] more, it really sparked my interest. And learning I had enough confidence in it, that was pretty good.

Being able to take the opportunity boosted my confidence a little bit more. I think just being able to take that leap of confidence to another level. 

You can watch Lauren’s episode in the second season of Takeout Kids on The Spinoff, made with the support of NZ On Air.

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