Well, I've never done this sort of thing before, maybe I just naturally felt like doing this.
But remember, it could've just been a dream!!
To me the beginning sounds like you feel there were many paths open to you, and those strangers were old friends who seemed to be drifting further away and taking different paths.
I think the strip taking you past while all was muted represents you feeling that everything in life is passing you by at the moment, and you aren't having time in your life to relax.
I think the island is you having found somewhere you thought was sanctuary, but it ended up you feeling left out and uncomfortable, not fitting in and when you wanted to get off you found it to seem impossible.
However, your resignation at this might not be the p[roblem, the swimming against the tide could mean you have to struggle to get out the proverbial sinking sand so you can review your life and take more time to see if yiou truly chose a path recently that was the right one for you.
Hopefully I helped somehow, but don't take my advice too seriously, because if you did something that could affect your life at the moment for the worse in an irreversible way I would feel terrible about it.
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Resident cantankerous sorcerer of the Clan HADB
and Sorcerous Nuttella salesman of the O.R.T
Long live HADB!!!
'What doesn't kill me makes me stronger'