TRAVEL

When I was a little girl I had always kept a  dream that I would one day be an air stewardess so I could take to the skies and travel the world over. I love the subject ' geography'  when I was in high school and that fueled my interest to travel so I could see the desert and experience the snow storm or the sand storm just as I had read in the text books.

I applied for the job at 21, but when I was short listed to be interviewed, I chickened  out. I told a friend that I didn't want to "be told" I was not pretty enough to be a stewardess. It was almost like an end to a dream. But I consoled myself that if I worked hard enough at College and later get a good job, may be I could earn enough to travel and see the world. I was never a straight 'A' student and college life was tough for me.

Alhamdulilah, I graduated and  had a good job and the rest was history.

When I was working I traveled fairly often alone with some friends. Now I traveled  with my husband without having to worry about work. But traveling at a younger age was a lot more 'fun' than now because you have the extra energy. But all the same, travel makes you smarter and wiser in ways you would not realize until much later. That was my experience and  I  encourage my children to travel when young even if it means going on a budget trip on a back-pack. Its energy that makes travel FUN. You can weather just about anything because you have the energy.

Travel is also Ibadah (good deed). We explore this world to learn and internalize the greatness of our Creator and Sustainer,  God Allah almighty.

So, save or make all the money you can, and travel when you are young and energetic and less commitments. May Allah grant us the means and may He be pleased with us.

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