Flying Solo (Marriott TRAVEL contest entry)

Flying Solo

Some people had asked me why I need to go flying solo. My only companion being my camera. If I traveled alone nobody else could intrude on my thoughts or to distort my focused lens on the world. Of course I am open to new perspectives but my lens is my special lens. Nobody else has it. I should learn from it, its strengths and its flaws. There are so many places I want to visit, to experience, with my own physical self and not just through the pixelated screen of my computer on a rainy day. I want to taste the rain and feel the sun. 

I put my hat on my head, my sunscreen and bug spray in my bag with the other necessities inside. I walked out the door with camera in hand and step into the waiting taxi.

I need to visit the ancient ruins of Greece and Rome to feel the presence of something millenniums old. To feel that exquisite rush that only traveling to new destinations brings. To capture the essence of millenniums of classical histories in my little time capsule camera.

We turn into the airport parking lot and I paid my driver before walking in.

I need to visit the modern cities of the world to see how much we have progressed and our potential to go even farther than many people barely thirty years ago, and much less centuries ago, could have imagined us to be. To capture the potential and the ingenuity that we people possess and to spark inspiration though every camera click.

I finished my security check with my minimalist bag over my shoulder before finding a seat at my terminal. Ten minutes until my flight boarded.

I need to visit places with unique cultures. To expand my horizons and experience new things that I otherwise could have missed if more than only my camera accompanying me. To learn about their ways of life and traditions and to learn from my experiences over my travels.

I walked onto the airplane as others started to file in behind me, all distant nonsense as I sit down in my seat, lost in thought.

I need to travel to learn about myself, to find the person I am and decide about how I feel about being that person. Do I need to improve? Do I need to learn? Do I need to change in any way or should I stay? I'll learn by breathing in city air and swimming through lake waters. I'll learn by spending time with people from hundreds of backgrounds, each of them with a special light in them that I will hopefully capture in snapshots of my journeys. 

I open my eyes to see the plane was above the clouds. I took out my camera and snapped a photo of the clouds, the wing of the plane, and the rays of sun that made its way through the small window. I try to focus in on my experience, to see what lies beneath. There's always something underneath.

Lastly, I need to visit the places in need. The poor, the broken, the ones that many people misunderstand to an extent. I want to stay and help, to help bring them hope and inspiration. I want to take meaningful photos and learn from them. I hope to inspire them in turn through everything I had taken in my camera; lessons, people, pictures that seem to come to life and will hopefully become something they have seen not only in their dreams or on a screen.

My camera is going to be my legacy, and a legacy I hope will inspire. That's why I go flying solo. To capture life's spirit in timeless frames that are worth more than gold ever will be.

The plane ride seemed to last an eternity, but I was finally here at my first stop. The plane had landed, the captain announced landing, and people clapped. We were free to go. I shouldered my bag and stepped out into the airport where I would begin my journey. A single person in the crowds of people, a single string in the massive tapestry of life. I started walking.

The journey that will change my life and others to come. My time flying solo begins now.