For Camilla and Ked, sometimes their worlds seem so far apart, but it’s also the same thing that brings them together.
How did you meet?
C: We went to the same high school but, strangely, never met! It wasn’t until Ked walked up to me in the campus bookstore while I was standing in line, juggling a stack of novels and Psych textbooks, and struck a conversation. All while she was already on the phone with someone else!
It turns out we were in two psychology classes together. After that, we went our separate ways until the next semester, when we were grouped together in sexuality class for heated discussions. From then on, we had a strong, unconventional bond that was only compounded by our differences. We wanted to tell each other everything all the time, and we tried to reach a middle ground about the most controversial topics.
What is your favorite memory together?
C: After we’d been together for about six months, we planned a road trip from Vancouver Island down to Santa Barbara. Stopping all along the coast and visiting my uncle and his family. We were both so drawn to the Ancient Redwood forests of California, the Oregon Coast, and San Francisco. It was a struggle. Traveling in the same car with someone for long periods brings much to the surface that we couldn’t run away from, but we grew really close. We stopped in Eugene to see a concert by Gregory Alan Isakov, our favorite. I don’t remember ever feeling so present, so grounded, around a crowd of people. That night felt like the beginning and end of everything I ever knew.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome together?
C: A few days after that concert, my dad passed away suddenly. We were still in Oregon and had to drive back home frantically. Ked was my anchor and still is. She drove for hours while I sat there in complete numbness. She didn’t leave my side for days.
I developed a severe fear of abandonment and mistrust for everyone close to me throughout that summer. This, in turn, triggered Ked’s independence and desire for solitude. We were stuck in patterns of fighting and discordance. It was tricky, messy, and painful, and we made it through the worst of it.
Tell us your favorite thing about one another.
K: Camilla is caring, loving, and patient beyond what others would deal with. She is driven and soft-spoken at the same time and reminds me of the forest. She is gentle.
C: Ked is fiery, feisty, and has a great sense of humor. She is independent but would do anything for me. She is incredibly loyal and possesses a strong social intelligence, which allows her to get along with and understand almost anyone.
What’s in the future for you both?
C: Next year, Ked is moving back to Thailand with her family for a while. I’ll go with them for the first while and teach English. We’re excited to start a home-base halfway across the world in Bangkok and to learn to be together in a space that is unfamiliar to me. We’ll become closer in different ways and start saving for our future together, wherever that may be. We will have to work to integrate our disparate cultures.
Ked likes to think she is Ked-napping me across the world and is excited to witness me in a place where I’m uncomfortable and feel like an outsider. This will help us grow together and grow closer, but also grow in our individuality. On the flip side, I’m excited for Ked to show me a space where she is intimately familiar and comfortable with.
Photography by Innocent Thunder Photography
