For some reason, I found myself crying over Van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo, written 137 years ago, at the NGV in 2017. Despite the vast gulf of time between us, I was struck by how he faced the same struggles in his studies as I did then—an unexpected connection across time. One quote from those letters has stayed with me ever since: 'For humanity, with all its inherent struggles, vulnerabilities, reflections, and loneliness, is the North Star of profound meaning.' I hope my journey toward a new land will prevail in due time.
