Written in my notes app while hovering above London:
I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and awe. I’ve dreamed of a moment like this for years and almost have to pinch myself to know it’s real.
There is something so humbling about hovering over a place you’ve only seen in pictures and maps. It feels a bit different than my arrival in Thailand last spring. Part of me thinks it’s a feeling of returning home. A little like meeting a new family member just born into the world. I have a connection to this side of the world without ever having planted a foot on its soil. It just makes you think about how connected we all are. All immigrants. All human. All capable of feeling awe and wonder as we hover above sights unseen, people unmet, history untouched.
At the end of January, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in London with two of my best friends before jetting over to Italy. Obviously, quite some time has passed. I have been holding off on posting many pictures from the short time I had in Europe – partly because it causes me grief, partly because it seems insensitive to our new reality. But still, I want these memories to have a home. I can’t wait to travel again when the world has healed, but until then I’ll hold these little flashes of awe and wonder near and dear.
