We all belong here.

I still remember the first time I saw the sunset here. I needed to finish an assignment of observing things under the sunset for my undergrad first year course. I invited a friend to go with me to the St Kilda pier, we sat there, and I had to listen to him talk about his judgements and biases towards other peers because I was too scared to go alone, I didn't want to go there by myself, it seems too sad and pathetic to go there alone. But when I was there back then with him, ironically, I felt more alone. So dissociated that I wanted to escape.
Over the years I've grown my interest of watching sunsets, I seemed to feel used to watching it alone because I can bear the loneliness with only myself, but I couldn't bear it when others are around, it feels much worse.
I lived in a West-faced apartment with a big balcony in 2023 where I almost can see the sunset every day, no matter sunny or cloudy weather, I took photos of the sunset when I can remember and plan to make them into a video that represents this unique short period of time which I feel more lonely than ever, but the sunset actually helps, it's like a special remedy. It makes everything more hopeful, I gain the courage of staying with the feeling of loneliness through the few minute process.

Loneliness doesn’t always arrive loudly.
It moves in quietly, settling in the cracks grief leaves behind.
It found me after I lost my grandmother - in the stillness of rooms that once felt full.
It followed me to university, where crowds buzzed around me and I floated outside of it all. For me, loneliness lives inside transitions - the spaces between what was and what is. It’s not just the absence of people, but the immense weight of memories.
And yet, even in its heaviness, loneliness reminds me:
How lucky am I to have loved someone and something so much to feel the loss of it all.

I was homeschooled until grade 8, when I joined my local public school ahead of my peers in science and English but behind them in social skills. I’m in my second year of university now, with a life full of friendships and love, but I look back at my younger self and I still cannot understand what I did wrong that left me so alone. Maybe I’m grateful. To some extent, my inability to make friends in high school left me with only academics to confide in. Without friends to spend time with at recess or lunch, I would sit outside my next classroom and get ahead with the work. Once, some nice girls walked past me and swore I was more hardworking than any of our classmates, but I didn’t believe them. I didn’t feel hardworking.

It was just all I had.

Me and my brother experienced a similar situation, but for some reason he took to socialising better than me. In senior high school, he shared with me his newest epiphany – “Even if you’ve never met them before, always talk like you’ve had one conversation before.” This stuck with me, a way to make first conversations less awkward. One time, I arrived late to my social studies class because I had been running errands for an extracurricular project and found my usual table unusually empty. Instead, there was a new student easily chatting away at a different table. I decided to be brave and joked about how lonely I was and asked if I could sit with them. From there, I used my brother’s advice and kept talking to this new student, who didn’t have any preconceptions about my shyness from previous weeks. Here was an opportunity to be someone else.
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I believe that was a catalyst for learning how to make friends and not be so lonely. I learned to seek out connect, invite people to spend time together, and talk with new people like we had already had a conversation.

Aisha, 20

I grew up in Rural NSW, I struggled with my identity and sexuality during my youth. Nobody I knew growing up was accepting or had any education around those topics so I remember most of my childhood as being depressed, anxious and anti social. I moved to Melbourne at 21 years old and it was so hard I didn’t know anybody. I struggled to get a job even though I had a lot of experience, I had no friends here which was hard to make friends because it felt like everyone my age had high school friends and didn’t want to be meeting anyone new. And I didn’t understand things like pronouns or understanding my sexuality which made me feel like an outcast for the first 1.5 years of living here. I was so depressed, isolated and felt alone every time I tried to get into a service it was a long wait like headspace and it gave me anxiety to receive phone calls.
Now I’m finally feeling settled, I understand myself, my identity and sexuality and made some friends that helped me discover things about me and understand them.

During Covid-19, I remember how my 16-year-old self was away from home for the first time, starting high school in a foreign country and doing remotely learning. My homestay family always went out on the weekend while I woke up early and went to the Library to study.

I talked and was invited to join a group of Aussie friends in class who have been together for years. I built some connection and shared about my learning and life in Australia. Some were surprised , some admired the resilience and some acknowledged things may have been heard and I was so brave . I took that as a compliment and felt proud of myself , continuing to go to State Library every day after class till dinner time.

Little did people know, I rarely hang out with those classmates and volunteering and joining youth group at local church made me feel no less lonely. I appreciated the connection, the excitement and novelty of meeting new people, however I recognised some anxiety around making long term friendship in Australia. No one was from my Vietnamese background, spoke the language or invited me over to cook my home dishes. I missed my family and friends in Vietnam but was too proud of my independence to admit my struggles.

Till now, it has been 5 years living here , I have grown so much. However , the loneliness still lingers on the nights when I couldn’t sleep or when I had late night assignments. I convinced myself it was part of student life toward growth and more fulfilment . I was more open to speaking to counsellor and EAP, helping me work toward healthy and grounded mindset in any situation.