I still remember the day when my mother asked me to go to Noida from Meerut and I got frightened by the thought of taking the bus, alone. Today, within a year, I have travelled all alone to Bangalore, Pune, Madurai, Ahmadabad and will soon travel to Bihar.

(Noida is a place around 50 kms from Meerut)

Since my childhood days, I have been a lazy bum. I would try and limit my travel as much as possible and would also make sure that there is always someone with me whenever I’m traveling anywhere outside of my comfort zone. Before traveling to Bangalore, the farthest place that I had gone to was Vaishno Devi, that too, with a group of friends during first year of my college.

The last one year has changed this habit of mine completely. I am now more comfortable in traveling anywhere and ironically, I prefer to travel all alone. There is a reason for that. When you travel the length and breadth of the country all by yourself, there’s a high chance of finding who you are. Not only that, you become more responsible, confident and self reliant.

Today when I called up my mother and told her that I am going to Bihar, she couldn’t resist and said, “One year before, going to Noida was such a difficulty for you, now you are going to Bihar.”

These words were just a part of a normal conversation. But, when I think about it in silence, it tells me how far I had come from the good old days. It tells me that in order to overcome your fear and to start loving what comes after that, you ought not to face your fears but to live them.

The life that we all live today is the result of some of the fears that we faced yesterday. Still, we are here. Living our lives. The fears that we all face today will result in our life tomorrow. So, why get afraid of them? Why not love them?

Pictures of the day: Journey so far.