G’day mates! This is your captain speaking. Could I please ask everyone to double check that your seatbelt is fastened? This is going to be a bumpy ride.

Indeed, this was the most rollercoaster week of the semester—emotionally, mentally, and physically.

It started off pretty strong. The NUS basketball team threw an end-of-season party on Monday and I learned firsthand how extremely degenerate Asian people are—their words not mine.

We played poker with a $20 buy-in, and I was the only person at the table to not buy-in multiple times. These dudes would just bet recklessly, lose, then buy back in. Rinse and repeat.

I kid you not, this guy next to me was down $300 by the end of the night, which I thought was virtually impossible. Regardless, I started at $20, and ended at $30, so I guess I held my own. Or maybe they just thought I was soft for gambling so conservatively.

Tuesday, was the beginning of my 13 day adventure funded by Georgia Tech to visit Australia and New Zealand. I planned to go to Cairns, Sydney, and Canberra in the 8 days I would be in Australia.

Here’s a photo of the Great Barrier Reef, the primary thing to explore while in Cairns. Isn’t it so beautiful?

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t know. Immigration issues at the airport prevented me from getting on my flight to Cairns. Australia requires you to fill out this Electronic Travel Authorization that is supposed to give you immediate approval to enter the country. But my ETA was flagged by the government as needing additional information, and it took 2 days to resolve.

So yes. I should have done it earlier. I messed up, and it cost me. Ironic because I diligently planned out this trip, far more than any other I’ve taken this semester.

But I overlooked step 0.

I did eventually get on a flight to Sydney, so things worked out in the end. Upon landing however, I learned that Georgia Tech would no longer be funding my trip due to me being unable to follow the itinerary I had proposed, among other issues.

Oh well. Paying for it myself was definitely an L, but there are worse things than being stuck in Australia on your own dime.

That first day I did a lot of sightseeing, venturing to the Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, and the Botanic Gardens.

I wasn’t in too much of a mood to go out that night, and I was solo traveling so I could do whatever I wanted.

Unfortunately, the next morning I woke up to some awful news.

It happened only a few minutes after I went to sleep, but I didn’t get on my phone until hours later. My friend from back home, Braylon Meade, was killed in a car accident that night.

The person in the other car was charged with DUI and was underage.

Braylon was the little brother I never had. He was my best friend in high school’s younger brother, and I started doing private basketball training with him during my senior year. I coached his travel basketball team on my gap year, and all the way through the pandemic he and I would work out together almost every day.

Despite being 5 years younger than me, that little dude worked like a dog. He pushed me harder than a lot of people my own age due to his work ethic, drive, and discipline.

Only a few weeks ago he called me to get advice on his college applications. Georgia Tech was his top choice.

Man. He was such a beloved member of my hometown, and it has really shown by the way the community has come together in the last few days. It made me a little guilty that I can’t be there for his family right now, but it would be really infeasible to go back home while I have finals in 8 days in Singapore.

So, it was safe to say that I felt pretty aimless that entire day when I heard the news. I cried in public on three separate occaisions. I was planning on going to the beach but I didn’t want to interact with anyone. So I ended up doing this beachside walk in Sydney, just to be alone with my thoughts.

On the walk, I came across a sign for an event happening in Sydney: a 35K “bloody long walk” (or run), that was happening the following day.

I may have been halfway across the world, but I wanted to do something to honor Braylon’s legacy, and I couldn’t think of a better way than something like this. If I couldn’t be with his family, at least I could do something to let them know I was thinking of them, and him.

Registration was closed, so I took an Uber to the starting point for the event. As I had assumed, race organizers were setting up, and so I found the race director and asked her if I could participate.

She said yes.

The next day I woke up at 4:45am to go do the race. Over 1300 people had registered, but most were walking the entire course. I hadn’t trained or anything, but I did want to give it my best shot. So I ran as much as I could.

The course was genuinely beautiful, and stretched almost all of Sydney’s coastline. It was definitely a great way to see the city. Thank goodness it was overcast because the humidity and hills were punishing enough as it was.

I fell in line with these four middle-aged moms who were also walk-running at a pace that was in line with pretty much the best I could have hoped for. They let me join them, and it definitely helped me chug along as fast as I could.

Because most people were strictly walking this course, by running as much as we could we actually all finished within the top 11 performers. I finished 8th, in a time of 4 hours 42 minutes.

I then decided that if I really wanted to honor Braylon, I should just finish out the remaining distance for a marathon. So after the finish line festivities, I walked and ran about 7 more kilometers to reach the marathon distance.

So yeah. That was my week. It was an absolute rollercoaster, with more lows than highs. Definitely the most chaotic week I’ve had in Asia/Oceania, but I hope I can bounce back next week. I’ve got a few more days in Australia, then it’s on to New Zealand.

I don’t know if I can pick just one thing I learned this week.

Something I’ve learned through various events in Asia is that life feels incredibly fragile when you’re thousands of miles away from the people you love.

Braylon didn’t do anything wrong. He just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. That can happen to any of us.

Most people reading this didn’t know Braylon, but I’d like you to think about how the impact it would have if you woke up to that news about a good friend of yours.

Just think about it for a minute. It’s a good exercise.

What it tells me is to not take our relationships for granted. Cherish all the moments you have with your friends and family. Tell them that you love them. Be intentional about reaching out. Don’t let petty things get in the way of the ones you love.

And please, please, don’t drink and drive. Just call a freaking Uber.

RIP Braylon Meade.

See you next week.