Because it takes a village metropolis. This list is non-exhaustive.

To mentors - Shannon, Prof Joy, Prof Rahr, Prof Yan, Susan, Prof Greg - for being bridges between learning, joy, growth, and an ear to listen and being some of the earliest supporters of everything and anything I was curious about.

To serendipitous acquaintances turned friends - Noah, Chef Tam, Chef Yue, MoMo, Chef Eric, Sunny - for showing me that true friendship transcends time and space (thank you, internet).

To Jason, Gerry, and Nancy - for being my adoptive New York family and taking me under your wing. We aren’t the conventional group walking down Water St but we make it work.

To Henry and Daisy - the original tricycle. Old friends that have seen me at my lowest lows but remain the most patient and caring people regardless of circumstance. Unconditionally, even when I was snappy and irritable. Cheers to 10 years of friendship, of siblinghood.

To Anna - for being my first new friend in a foreign environment, for sharing your love when I was at my weakest, for supplying me with a whole new world of what childlike, wonderous friendships could look like.

To Shiri, Yidan, Karen, Alison, Azmain, Flora, Ben - relatively new friends who I feel like I’ve known for a lifetime, some of whom discovered me when I was at my very worst and have navigated the strangeness that is your early 20s with me and shaped my worldview quite dramatically.

To Phoebe and Ivan - for genuinely visiting and enjoying my travel recommendations (which brings me so much joy) and checking in on me every so often, even when we're 6,000 kilometres apart.

To Rohit, RL, Tracy - for being boomerangs, and for reconnecting after years, but bouncing back like no time had passed.

To Tommy - for moral steadfastness and collected reason. For 10 pm udon and 8 am coffee right after. Need I say more?

To Rishi - for childlike joy, incorporated with a grounding force. For the moments we talk, for 15 hours on end, until the birds chirp and we both look at each other — it's so over.

To Alex - for reliability. For being a rock, for being stable, for being heartfelt at any and all given times.

To Nathan - for supporting me at the start of my building journey even though it wasn't a path you saw for yourself and keeping me grounded the whole time. For being the closest thing I had to an older brother. I miss you more every day.

To D - for teaching me, years ago, that humour and success can be friends. For taking care of me when I didn't know I needed it (or I did, but was fiercely tied to my independence).