Honestly, I have been a shy, self conscious and introvert kind of person all my life. For my engineering, when I had chosen a hostel life in a reputed govt. college over being a day scholar in a private college, my parents had gone for a shock. Even I was not sure if I would be able to live 500 kms away for long set of months and my parents were quite much convinced that it was not my cup of tea and I would return soon.
No doubt it took me an year to adjust in the conditions away from home comforts and not once but twice I was overpowered by the thought of running back home but every time an inside thought held me back and told me that I had to be brave and live my decision. This was a challenge that I had to win over myself. I did it too.
A few years later in the corporate world, I went for an offsite with my office colleagues. While I was more than hundred percent sure that para-gliding, rock climbing and rappelling were activities that I would never indulge into, I actually went ahead and did all of the three. Till the last moment I wasn’t prepared but I mustered courage and went for it because I wanted to add some adventure and inspiration to my life.
When I started as a traveler, I always thought I was only made for luxury traveling and I needed a comforting partner/group to be around me. Yes, because a few years ago, I even feared traveling alone but in the last few months I went on my trips alone and discovered that it was all about choosing to step out of comfort zone. When I did, I found myself enjoying the adventurous road trip in Oman with people I hardly knew. I realized that I loved every bit of it from going atop the highest point in the Gulf region (Jebel Shams) to camping in the deserts and getting my thrills from dune bashing.
At all the above decision making times, I have loved overpowering my own inhibitions and fears with ‘Yes, I can do this!’ And ‘I can do that too’. But this is not the end, I wanna do more and go further. Whats on my list now? Outdoor, Offbeat, Adventure Traveling! Yes, I wanna listen the sounds of nature and get closer in its lap, do things that I have never done and for all of it what better than going to the Himalayas in our own country.
Last year when my friends mentioned going trekking and hiking, they almost ticked off my name from the list. Even my hubby said, ‘I am not sure if you will be able to do it’. Technically, I know I am not in the right shape nor do I have the physical agility or mental strength to go long haul trekking but I do nurse a dream to go to the magical mountains of Ladakh, live an experience in Spiti Valley and see world’s highest peaks- Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and Lhotse from one place Sandakphu (Paradise of Trekkers) one day.
I have to do it not because others feel that I can’t do it but I am not here to settle for a choice. I want to be a lifestyle, luxury and an adventure traveler. The idea is not about jumping off the cliff, going high altitude trekking with bag-pack or climbing mountains to prove that I am brave and adventurous but its more about adding more facets to my journey as a traveler, as a women who is thought of that she cannot do it.
My other experiences of life, in some form extension of my travel stories have given me the realization that I have been able to go beyond my own expectations only when I have not settled for the compromising ‘OR’. Being a scholar student, an engineer, a writer, a blogger, wife to the chosen one and more were not about making choices but about adding ‘AND’ at every step.
This is my Journey from ‘OR’ to ‘AND’ and it will continue….
Wow, from “Or” to “And” very well written.
Wonderful, this is inspiring…