We all belong here.

Familiar streets, sheets, faces,
Now ephemerally disfigured.
You’ll be fine eventually…
Familiar calls, texts, places,
Never the same again, just wasted.
Nothing’s meant to last, right?
Dread bleeds into the distance.
Everything that meant anything has turned to dust.
The impossibility of change seemed like an illusion.
And looked nothing like the certainty to come.

The first initial reaction I wanted from this was the visual impact of seeing the word alone highlighted, on its own, in the middle of the sea of words; to represent the same real world feeling of being surrounded by people but still feeling alone. And then reading it in it's entirety gives you an insight into my experience at uni. I guess it did end up being a bit poetry-like but that was not the intention, just sort of happened as I was writing.

This collage sees an individual (pictured in grey) going on a journey away from their known supports in pursuit of something better (as represented by the colours and the sunshine) but to get through a lonely place (represented by the grey hill). As they navigate the loneliness or isolation, they find new connections where they fit in (represented at the top right-hand corner, and the individual is now depicted in colour).

Going from highschool to university has been both great and stressful. It's nice to have more freedom with what I can do with my life, but I still feel as if I'm trapped in a way. Having to balance the pressure of completing all my university work while making money with casual jobs and just generally wherever I can is very stressful. I almost have no time to do the things that I enjoy and that make me happy.

I'm surrounded by people who are put under the exact same pressure, yet I still feel alone in the struggle because at the end of the day it's up to me alone to get everything done for myself. It sucks that such a shared experience amongst young people today still feels so isolating and lonely, like it's you against a world that's throwing everything at you to keep you down. You just have to keep your head up and keep going, so you don't get left behind.

There is a monster inside
And it likes to hide
But when it rears its ugly head
I feel dead. In crowds of people
And all alone
Like I don’t belong
It tells me that I will always be alone
That no one understands
And when I don’t want more
I try to shut the door
But the monster never truly leaves me
Because I am lonely.