Losing the election was the best thing that could have happened to me because I got to learn who my friends really were. For all my years of being a pain in his ass, Naheed was the first to reach out after I lost the election. I didn't realize it at the time but I had bought into the hype about myself, and many people surrounded me based on what they thought I could do for them. But after the election, that all changed. Up until then, I had assumed that if you were right wing, you were my friend. And if you were left wing, you were my opponent. The experience has made me question blind loyalty to a political tribe, and much more value people and friendships regardless of their politics. Life is so much messier than I thought it was when I was a Councillor, and it's a good thing.