THE OCEAN

You can be my safety zone, 

Somewhere I can go when I feel alone

That's all I need, all I want, Is to stay a little longer now

Arms around me like a border, 

Like an endless stream

You take me in, To a place that I've never been

Now I'm Giving in to your touch

I will never get enough

Diving deep into the ocean

- Mike Perry (The Ocean)

Three girls on the road, three wild hearts, young and free. Wind in our hair, crystallised salt on our bronzed skin. Age is but a number, but our body will never be younger than we are in this moment. "The oceans is everything I want to be. Beautiful, mysterious, wild and free."

I am truly so blessed to have these two by my side, sisters in mind, sisters in soul. Brought together by one trip, one aeroplane, one unforgettable exchange experience overseas. Bonded by the threads of laughter, of tears, of the sharing of our deepest darkest experiences."But people are oceans. she shrugged. You cannot know them by their surface." - Beau Taplin // Surfaces

When I was young I had an eardrum surgery preventing me from taking swimming lessons for some time, so I am not a competent swimmer. I have almost drowned in the past, but my relationship with the water is a conflicting one. My fear of the water is not without an equally deep love for it. There is something so carefree about being immersed in the cool refreshing water under the blazing Australian sun, as you emerge, reborn, free of thoughts, blessed, blissful, with salty tips in your hair. "My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me." And I am so glad that my ear problems didn't prevent me from immersing into the Great Barrier Reef to witness its beautiful natural wonders, and to do so by scuba diving was something beyond my imagination!

East coast, you were amazing! Cairns, was a tropical paradise. The Great Barrier Reef was a bucket list moment, a memory forever entrenched into the deepest parts of our hearts. When we grow old, we will tell our grandchildren of the stories of how three crazy girls drove, sometimes 13 hours straight (with a short sleep pit-stop), 7866km down the coast with nothing but a carry bag each. Many nights were spent sleeping at the rest areas meters off the highway, with the big trucks parked next to us. And I will never forget how we sneaked into the caravan parks to steal free showers! Oh yes, that will be one of those moment... "If you don't do anything stupid when you're young, you'll have nothing to smile about when you're old."

A while back I realised there is a proportion of girls in this world who are extremely fake, filled with lots of drama and have jealousy issues. "Over what?" I asked my brother, as I told him about my confusion after encountering some non-friendly girls. "I don't know, I'm not a girl," he replied. "And how do you know this?" "I've spoken with a lot of girls about their friends, most of them have problems with them."

It reminds me that I may have taken for granted the amazing group of friends that I have, who are simple and real. No fake-ness, no drama, no backstabbing, no jealousy. We vibe? Then we chill together. We don't vibe? Then we don't chill together. It's that straight-forward. Being blessed with the company of beautiful souls to help me get through some of life's most terrible lessons has made me unable to understand those who aren't so lucky to have such amazing company. But seriously, life is hard enough as it is, with dying loved ones, cancerous diseases, financial problems, stress from work and studies... why add onto that with fake friends who get jealous and stab you in the back, or are simply not there for you when you need them? Especially in life's tough times.

"Girls compete with one another, women empower each other"

It's the same with lovers. Any relationship really. Any people you keep close to you should be reliable, authentic and supportive. I would rather be alone than be in bad company. Because it is simply too draining to be surrounded by bad vibes. You could feel far more alone in bad company than in the peaceful company of yourself. Cut them out! Why do you need them? Are you scared to be a loner? A reject? Friendless? I assure you there are real people out there who you can have a real relationship with as long as you are real, as long as you're not fake, not filled with drama and don't have jealousy issues. Maybe that's the thing, we are who we surround ourselves with. If you hate your friends, you should probably do some self-reflection because maybe you're not so shiny yourself.