A note to the girl I used to be

You thought the work would be the picture. The work is the picture plus a thousand unseen repetitions. That is not a disappointment. That is the craft.

Keep your name clean. Keep your hands soft enough for crystal and hard enough for a provision run. Do not let anyone tell you that glamour and competence cannot share a body.

When you are chief, leave the notes. Someone is coming after you with a new STCW and a face full of hope. Meet her on the passerelle like you wish you had been met.