My Traveling Passion
My passion for traveling began when I was just 10 years old.
I still remember that night so clearly. It was a full-moon night, the sky was dark velvet, and the moon was so bright and round it felt like it was looking right at me. Nature has always been the force behind me, calling me quietly but constantly. That night, I found myself gazing at the moon and whispering to it, “Why don’t you lift me up to the moon so I can see the world?”
This was long before Neil Armstrong ever set foot on the moon, long before I knew that such a dream could actually come true for anyone. For a little girl, the world felt both enormous and within reach, all at once.
As I grew up, that whisper never left me. It turned into a promise I made to myself. I became determined to study hard, earn a university degree, find a good job, and earn enough to make my own way around the world. I wanted to see it — not just in pictures in a book, but with my own eyes, my own feet on its soil.
And I did it. I have truly done it.
From that first dream under the moonlight to boarding flights with my own ticket in hand, the journey taught me patience. Traveling was never just about moving from one place to another for me. It was about becoming the woman who could make her childhood wish come true.
What Traveling Has Taught Me
People often ask me why I love to travel so much. The truth is, traveling teaches us more than any classroom ever can.
1. It opens our eyes. No book can teach you the color of the sea in Trincomalee at sunrise, or how the mist feels on your skin in Ella. You have to be there. Travel removes the curtains we didn’t know were there.
2. It humbles us. When you stand before a massive mountain, a centuries-old temple, or an ocean that never ends, you realize how small you are — and how big life is. It teaches you gratitude.
3. It connects us. A smile is the same in every language. I have shared tea with strangers who became friends, learned recipes from grandmothers in villages, and listened to stories that changed my heart. Travel reminds us that despite our differences, we are one world.
4. It makes us stronger and more confident. Every journey, whether smooth or challenging, teaches you to solve problems, to trust yourself, and to be brave. You come back home a little different, a little wiser.
My 10-year-old self asked the moon to lift her up to see the world. The moon didn’t lift me — but it lit the path. And I walked it.
If you have a little dreamer at home, tell them this: whisper your wish to the moon, but then work for it. The world is waiting for you to see it.
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