Pencil & Sketch Pad

Chapter 1

Before, I was so afraid of travelling on my own. Who does not?, I mean, have you seen the news lately? Every day you will see flashing news about kidnapping, mobbed or killing some random strangers and then abandoning them in secluded areas afterwards.

But come to think of it, if we are going to summon ourselves to fear of travelling on our own, I guess it will always stop us from doing it so. It will halt our dream of going to places unless we have someone to share it or do it with. I have read a blog before that once in our lives we should try travelling alone to test our courage and independence. It does not mean that you have to travel abroad, though it will be nice if you can do that, most especially to places where English is not their major language.

I mean, if you can't do that, somehow, there is nothing you can't conquer at all. People never realized how liberating it is to travel on our own. Let us say you have the world map at hand to conquer. Another good thing is, no one will stop you from taking their photos or asking you to wait for them. It will just be you and yourself following your agenda for the day. How cool is that, right?

By travelling as well, you will meet people coming from different walks of life, especially if you stay in a hostel with other backpackers. You will also learn about their cultures, languages, and traditions. Some of them can be your companion in exploring the place and somehow become your buddies while in the hostel.

Those people will come and go, but others stay longer in our lives. At times, they will end up as one of our friends on Facebook, IG, or Twitter. Why am I saying this? Because whatever your nationality is, all of us have only one purpose, and that is to travel and explore the beauty of each country we are in.

You will never know you might be able to find your destiny whether work or someone special. Someone who will tickle our sense of unexplainable connections. However unconventional, our connections will always hold us closer to finding someone meant to be with us for a lifetime. People say when it happens, you found your soulmate. Wow, I guess that is deep, right? Perhaps I am just a hopeless romantic type of person.

But speaking of soulmates, do you guys believe in it? For me, I do. I believe that each one of us has our own designated pair, whether a friend or soon to be our partner in life. I have experienced those for real, whether it was a mere accident, well, it remains a mystery to me. It is like giving you some signs that you are not far away from finding your match.

I have seen one story in a documentary that a certain couple has a photo of them together 15 years ago in one tourist area. Both of them found out as they were scanning their old photo albums and noticed the same photos were linked, seeing their young selves standing next to each other. Who would have thought that those two strangers will find their way as a couple and get married in the end, right?

See, it's not impossible to find your match in a place that you two are both strangers? I am saying all of this because it happened to me. Let me guide you on how I found my soulmate. Before I go on further, allow me to introduce myself first. I am Mikaela Liem, my friends call me Miks. I am a self-taught artist; I travel a lot so that I can go get some inspiration to adapt into my painting. It was around July, in time for summer in Europe.