Sonia Majumder

Landing in London was a breathe of fresh air and it is a city that ignites your imagination. From the iconic castles to the secret war time tunnels and the tate modern museum – filled with paintings and sculptures by the likes of Picasso, Dali, Warhol and Rothko.

My uncle came to pick me up at the airport and we transited through kings cross station. I felt like I was at the Harry Potter movie set. There was so much to do in London and so little time. From borough market with their vast variety of food such as hearty beef stews, fresh home made pasta, pumpkin ravioli and chorizo slices served in ciabatta bread. Then Portobello Road running through the center of Nottinghill is a favorite of mine, with its antiques & collectibles, vintage clothes, music records from the sixties, photographers, artists and rock stars. Some days I would go for morning runs through Hyde park with beautiful white swans gliding in the River Thames. Other days I would spend walking through the alleyways of Convent Garden paved with cobblestones finding cozy bookstores to spend time in.

Growing up I would spend a lot of my time on the couch with my grandfather watching the news. We would talk about books, cooking and his travel stories such as seeing a mermaid once. I developed an interest in world affairs since then at the age of 15. Studying about British history at school made me decide to go to London.

Interesting how we end up in different countries than we imagined.When I finished high school, I wanted to move to South East Asia or Australia cause it was laid back and down to earth.I ended up going to Malaysia in 2008 then in 2010 I somehow decided to go to London to study International Relations. Time sure does fly by fast.

The last eleven years were spent on trying to travel to different countries and meeting people from all walks of life. I hardly sleep the night before I travel cause of the excitement. Having a face-paced life sometimes we need to slow down and reset. Every day we have a chance for new dreams, to focus on being better, doing better and creating incredible experiences. It took me a few failures and challenges to embrace that those are the moments that will help you grow.

The lesson learnt: To be patient with the small and big decisions that we make as that will shape our destiny.