There are certain moments in life that cause you to become an adult. These moments occur for everyone at different ages, in different ways and for different reasons. For me, my caring role accelerated this process.

A recent study by Cambridge University suggests you don’t become an ‘adult’ until your 30s. I was nine.

At six years of age, I knew how to pour out my brother’s medicine, check his breathing, manage seizures and wake my parents when I thought he needed an ambulance. My experience as a Young Carer was long since a part of my identity and a part of my childhood

I struggled because I didn’t know the term ‘Young Carer’. I didn’t receive support because it wasn’t something I ever realised I needed.

At nine years of age, I decided to start a business. My parents could have said many things – they had a very sick little boy who needed their care and support almost 24/7. But they said yes. My goal was, and will always be, to help young people like myself who have a caregiving role within their family.

At nine years of age, I began running fundraising events for kids like me, with the likes of Molly Meldrum, Peter Mitchell, David Campbell and Cameron Daddo. I recognised that I was a Young Carer and wanted others to recognise that they were too.

At fourteen, the dreaded was spoken. Cancer. I was very used to caring for my brother. His encephalitis, epilepsy, asthma, and poor immune system was second nature to me. But as a fourteen-year-old, my mum having cancer was not. And so, my caring role grew. And it was scary.

Being a Young Carer taught me things that others my age had likely never considered. Hospitals, ambulances and endless medications were second nature to me and I learnt that being a carer often means not expecting anything in return.

In Australia, approximately 1 in 10 young people are Young Carers. This number is high, as it includes all of the hidden carers, those who don’t identify and seek support, those who are never referred to support services, those who don’t realise that the term Young Carer exists.

At sixteen, I launched a non-profit organisation called Little Dreamers Australia. I had no business skills, just a passion and a vision. I wanted to create the kind of support system that I could have only dreamed of in my own childhood.

At twenty-six, I have a team of dedicated individuals by my side, all working towards a vision of a world in which every single Young Carer is supported by someone or something by 2030.

For me, adulthood started when I identified that I was a Young Carer. I started solving my own problems, taking initiative and building a community of people just like me, to help people just like me.

Everyone becomes an adult at a different age. For myself and a lot of other Young Carers, we reach these milestones a little earlier.

I’m certainly not the same person I was when I began this journey. What I know now I attribute largely to my experiences along the way. I’ve taught myself how to prepare financial documents and strategic plans, present to large audiences and demonstrate leadership. But I believe it was my role as a Young Carer that gave me the independence and maturity to turn this little business dream into a reality.