(½)I am the first woman who ever motorcycled from the South of India to the North which is a total journey of 5453 kilometers. I have been riding my motor cycle since I was 16 years old but two years ago I decided to make this specific journey. Many people warned me it would be dangerous and they told me not to go. I knew it could be dangerous especially for a girl alone but my motivation was bigger than my fear.

I took a few Martial arts classes before I went and I made sure to carry a knife and pepper spray with me at all times. Luckily I never had to use it. It took me 10 days in total but when I finally arrived at my final destination I felt very little excitement. That was until my family and friends called me to congratulate me and that’s when I realized I had finished. The best part is that other girls are now also making this road trip all by themselves. I’m proud that I have finished but I’m even more proud of the fact that I have opened a door for others.

(2/2)“For my own safety I would never ride my motorcycle at night but one time it took me longer to get to my destination. I ended up riding in the dark in a dangerous area. The road was full of holes and stopping would be even more dangerous. I was scared but there was a voice inside my head saying that if I would survive this experience it would make stronger. I managed to control myself mentally by slowly repeatedly saying to myself inside my helmet: ’‘Just few more kilometeres left and you will be fine. You can do this.” and I could.“

“She is Israeli and I’m half Dutch and half Hungarian. We went to the same international school in Bosnia. We were never close friends until most of our common friends went abroad during the holidays. Both of us were bored at home so she asked me to go on a trip with her. We decided to hitchhike from our hometown Mostar to Sarajevo. It’s about 80 kilometers but it took us more than 14 rides to get to there. Honestly it didn’t matter because we were on a adventure. During that trip we became close friends and we experienced so much. One of the highlights was when we hiked up a mountain. At the beginning of the trail we had two options. we could either take the stairs or actually climb the mountain by foot which would take twice as long. We did not need to think about it. Why take the stairs if you can actually climb the mountain.”

“The birds teach me to reconnect with nature. Most of us neglect our relationship with Mother Nature. We are too distracted trying to own her. Meanwhile we feel guilty and think that we are destroying her but we couldn’t be more wrong. She is a strong force who feeds us and gives us oxygen. She can live without us but we can’t live without her so the only thing we are destroying is ourselves.”
“If you could talk to her, what would you say?”
“Mama, I love you!”