Floating Above Turkey, Still Me

Everyone said the hot air balloon would be life-changing. That floating over Cappadocia at sunrise would unlock something profound. It was beautiful. Objectively, impossibly beautiful. Fairy chimneys stretched below like a child's sandcastle kingdom. The silence felt sacred. But I didn't cry. Didn't have an epiphany. Didn't feel reborn. I just felt... present. Quietly grateful. Still myself, but okay with that. Maybe that's enough. Maybe the best travel moments aren't the ones that transform you—they're the ones that remind you that you were already whole. The Instagram post made it look transcendent. The reality was simpler: a good morning, a beautiful view, and the relief of not needing it to be more than that. #Travel #TravelReality #NotTransformed