Collectively, I think we were all transformed by the realisation that you can sit all of two meters from someone every day and only really have a surface-level understanding of what they’re going through.

I didn't know how to articulate that on one hand I'd met an incredible guy, but on the other hand I was miserable, lonely, unfulfilled, and unable to picture what my future would look like. I was struggling to redefine my identity as an expat or immigrant without the people who have always been by my side. How do I explain that the best year of my life was also the worst?

Starstruck by the night sky, my dad and I took turns keeping a lookout for other boats in the darkness. I had never seen stars so bright, with absolutely nothing competing with their light. I felt incredibly small, yet somehow entirely safe.