Heywire winner Madhavi Hunt, Broome, WA

I remember when my parents said we were moving to Broome.

They were so excited and I started bragging about it to my friends and teachers in Singapore.

All the teachers would say with excitement, "BROOME?! You're moving to Broome?! They have beautiful sunsets. Lucky you!"

So I presumed it would be a better place than Singapore. But really, I did not have a clue.

My first day at school in Broome was great, exciting and a whole new experience.

But my optimism did not last long.

The amount bullying I experienced was outrageous.

People found out that I was adopted from India when I was two.

I had never followed any Indian traditions or culture, because I have nothing to do with India apart from the fact that I was born there.

You see, I was adopted by an American dad and Australian mum, so of course we did not eat curry every night and celebrate Hinduism.

But that did not stop people from calling me a "curry muncher" and telling me to go back to the slums.

What made it worse is that I felt like the teachers turned a blind eye.

You would think Aboriginal people would have more respect for people who are dark-skinned, because they are dark-skinned too and often face racism.

But one person called me the n word in front of the whole class, and got all of the class calling me one without any thought or care.

So to try to shut them up, I called them the n word back. But that made things worse.

I once had a rock thrown at my temple and people just stood there watching me struggling to breathe.

Now I have lived in Broome for six years and have had to deal with more challenges than I ever did Singapore.

There is a higher level of immaturity here. Maybe this is what happens to some young people when they are isolated in a remote town.

When I look back at the bullying I faced when I first arrived in Broome and it makes me angry that I let others mentally and verbally abuse me: how could I not stand up for myself?

Racism is so often thought of as something white people do to black people.

But my experience shows it can be much more complicated than that.