my most prized possession.

My passport is my most prized possession. My ticket to the world, it's ventured through some of the most exotic places on the planet, collecting stamps on almost every one of its pages.  The little 24 page book tells so many stories of my life as I know it today.  There was my trip to Australia, where I spent a year backpacking all by myself. That trip changed my life and made me the outgoing and confident person that I am today.  There are family vacations to Mexico, and my visa to live as a resident of the United Arab Emirates.   There are stamps from my layovers, bringing back memories of when I walked on the Great Wall of China and fell in love with Germany. Reminders of discovering Hong Kong, and a day trip to Oman where I made friends with dolphins.  There were the stamps from transiting through the United States on my way home to Canada, and of course the stamps from the two trips to Mexico in which I got engaged and married.  It's safe to say, it holds a lot of my most cherished memories. Thinking back to them, I felt a moment of heartbreak as the lady at the passport office stamped a giant "Cancelled" stamp and clipped the corner of my beloved book.  It's up for renewal, and while I will get a shiny new one (with a slightly better photo) soon, it still was a sad moment knowing that I'd never use that particular passport, ever again. 

As I sadly walked out to the street, it dawned on me that just because it's the end of an era, it doesn't mean that I can't make the next 5 years just as amazing. Sure, I probably won't go to 36 or so countries, I won't get my dream job for the first time or marry my best friend. That doesn't mean that life won't be fun, or that I won't travel.  Life is what you make of it. In 2 weeks, I'll have a brand new passport and I'm going to take it on as many adventures as I can.  

As for the old one... someday I'll flip through it and tell my kids all about my adventures. Hopefully I can inspire them to venture out and see as much of this great big world as they can!  

Farewell, old passport. We've had some amazing times together.