We stood in front of the huge bubbling tank filled with tiny floating cubes that sped and swirled about in this Pearson International Airport display. We were posing for our mock-wedding pictures and after we'd said our goodbyes, we stepped past security and out of sight of our families and a couple of friends, I struggled to hold back a stream of tears.
There were just hours between me and the other side of the world, and a couple months between my life before the trip, and my life after. All of the emotions, some known to me, others not, were intertwined and competing from within to be the first to burst out. I was overwhelmed by it.
That summer Ben and I went to Sri Lanka and it taught the former self-conscious and naive 20-year-old-me how absolutely mind-blowing life is. That summer taught me about human resilience. That summer was the beginning of a relationship that has moulded the very person I am today. I learned about another country, another people and another way of life. It was where the wick of my wanderlust was lit, and that summer, during it's highs and lows that spark ignited, and brought with it a whole new level of desire in me that I didn't know existed.
My life is defined more by relationships than by firsts, by the people I've encountered and come to know and love, in the places those first times have lead me. Sri Lanka is dear; her tropical heat, her delightful people and the memories of that place are forever a part of me.
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Scintilla Project, Day 1: Life is a series of firsts. Talk about one of your most important firsts. What did you learn? Was it something you incorporated into your life as a result?
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