My past life as an elected district councillor in Hong Kong feels both distant and immediate, like a chapter torn from a book I still carry. In 2019, I was swept into public office by a wave of hope during the pro-democracy movement. Walking through my constituency, listening to neighbours, solving daily problems — it was ordinary community work, yet in those moments, it felt extraordinary because people believed their voices finally mattered. At the same time, every decision carried the weight of political resistance. I remember the tension of council meetings, the quiet fear of surveillance, and the determination to serve despite it all. That duality — the intimacy of local service and the enormity of confronting authoritarian power — defined my role. Leaving it behind in 2021 was not just the loss of a job, but the loss of a home I had tried to defend.