Floating family: navigating childhood growing up on a boat in South London

There is this subtle but profound transition in childhood - a shift from an unhibited self to a heightened awareness of yourself and your surroundings. This marks a moment for many when the desire to fit in begins- a stage psychologists describe as the emergence of the “social self”. I remember this moment vividly. It was tied to the very place I called home: a 60-foot fishing boat south-west of London, where I spent the first 18 years of my life. I now write this at 23, having graduated from University and moved back home like many graduates struggling to afford otherwise. Having spent the past four years away from the only life I knew, I feel a sense of retrospection towards this life and the upbringing I experienced.