When I arrived in Split last year, I was already comfortable with who I am. I was battling grief, so it would tend to throw me off at the most inopportune times, but at no point did it make me feel less than. I also quickly realized I looked like I wasn’t from Split.

It was a strange feeling. I had spent just under two weeks in Split months earlier and several more in other parts of Croatia. Even throughout my travels last year in Turkey and in Italy, I knew I looked like a foreigner, but I was travelling, so obviously I would look different - like a tourist. However, once I moved here, I quickly became hyper-aware of societal nuances, style, and lifestyle—and it became clear I wasn’t like anyone here.