"Over the years, I've tried to find meaning in my experiences by creating 'crystal castles'—symbols of forgiveness, unspoken words, pain, reflection, and hope. These castles represent my dreams and emotions, which, like crystals, are simultaneously beautiful and fragile, but over time have shaped resilience and inner strength within me.

I started keeping a journal to remember the pain, to remind myself not to repeat the same mistakes and not let them back into my life. In this project, memories are transformed into photographs—each one symbolizing closure, a farewell to the past.
The emotions I encountered were incredibly painful—like gum tangled in my hair, like a needle piercing my skin, like choking on water, like falling off a swing and scraping my knees. Rereading our conversations, I felt physical pain in my palms, a reminder of the profound impact this relationship had on me. Ten years have passed, and I find it hard to remember who I am without him, as if my identity is inextricably linked to this person who, in fact, never really existed.

Looking back, I often wonder what I would have done on the day we met, knowing what I know now. An anniversary isn't just a countdown, but a decisive farewell to the world and the person I created, based more on dreams than reality.

On this anniversary, I give him—and myself—a life without each other, a parting gift wrapped in the pages of this project.

I'd like to present the project in the form of my diary, using entries from personal journals and notes. In my work, I prefer to create objects by hand using paper and glue. I took the phrase "crystal castles" as the main idea, and I compare them to my dreams of people and emotions. This project describes and reveals an important part of my life: emotional attachment and self-improvement.