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She took her time; the PR team had warned her about the interviews and how they could not be avoided, but she pushed back as long as was reasonable. It took a minute to get used to stable ground, unstable temperature, and people everywhere. "On top of that, you'll be in mourning," her mentor had shared. "Nothing really prepares you for that." She thought him old, weak, and sentimental, but he had simply been right. The gauntlet underway, all of the questions were pretty much the same (how does it feel to be back from Mars, how does it feel to be the first woman back from Mars, how does it feel ... how does it feel ... how does it feel). "I was teased as too fat in grade school; I was dismissed as too smart in college; I was passed over as too focused and dedicated as an adult headed towards a career as an astronaut. How it feels heading into space and traveling among the stars is like falling in love for the first time, I imagine - chosen out of billions, seen as you've never been seen before, and swept away." They caught her by surprise, all the tears that wanted to come, but her mentor had recommended pinching the inside of her thigh hard and coughing with her head down to keep control; it had worked for him (back in the day).