Airports. Hurried travel. Check-ins, checkouts, security checks, check shirts. Flaring tempers, cold sweats, flight anxiety, long queues, body scans.
Lost sleep, on-repeat playlists, lost and found appetites, questionable food.
Midflight turbulence.
Blurry dreams, strange faces, dark circles. Pointless Insta stories, attention-seeking behaviour, fake laughter, real tears.
Midlife turbulence. Ennui.
The constant worry that you're not doing enough. Not earning enough. Not eating the right things, not looking good enough, not saying the right things. Not hanging out with the right people. Not enough Internet strangers to seek approval from. The numbers game.
Likes preferred over love.
But these are just ramblings. Of a once-creative mind now teetering on the edge of obsolescence. An arrogant mind and an unhealthy body supercharged by the troika of modern society toxicity - junk food, alcohol, and passive aggressive parenting.
DING. CHARACTER WAKES UP, GROGGY AND EYES RED.
Hashtag First Rule: you do not talk about it.
But seriously, I have zero recollection of where I'm going.
I remember we're in a group, we're going around the country trying to spread happiness and cheer. To create safe spaces for young adults, and hear them out as they talk about their problems.
This has to be the experience of a lifetime.
Think about it: how many people get a chance to travel across their country, speak to people, uncover real stories, and chronicle them on film?
Some luck this.