Ok, so this might not be the most inspired tale, but this is how it happened to me nonetheless. While I was just an intsy bit tempted to make up something more glamorous, I decided to stick with the real thing. Last week I was in a dentist’s office waiting room with only the all too common past their prime magazines. Of the batch, I felt an ounce of relief when I found a Travel and Leisure beneath the gossip rags.

Next thing I noticed was that it was an edition from 2009, but it did advertise on the cover that inside they would reveal 15 of what they believed were life changing trips. And I took a moment and thought, well if they could have such an impact just three years ago, surely they must still hold standing. Of course if these destinations had not been impacted by natural disasters, or political strife.

Unfortunately, I did encounter quite a few places that I knew were not to be, such as Japan and Mexico, which led me to think about how lucky I have been to have already explored so many amazing places, places that were on this very list. Most grounding was that Instead of travellers being changed by the places on that list, those places had been changed by a brief period of time. Though I did not find my next excursion within those pages, I did find a reason to be even more thankful on a daily basis.