"I landed in Dubai with no real plan. I just knew I couldn't stay where I was."
"I graduated in 2021, when the world still felt like it had hit the pause button. Jobs were hard to find, and every application felt like it disappeared into thin air. I remember thinking, 'If I stay here waiting, nothing will happen.' So I booked a one-way flight to Dubai.
The first month was nothing like the Instagram version of moving abroad. It was résumés, interviews, rejections, and wondering if I had made the biggest mistake of my life.
I eventually found a job as an office engineer, and I thought, 'Finally, this is it.' But two months later, I was told they couldn't process my visa. Just like that, I was unemployed again.
Looking back, that disappointment probably saved me.
Another company eventually hired me. They trained me from the ground up, even when I still had so much to learn. There are people you never forget because they believed in you before you believed in yourself. I'm still grateful for that.
People usually know me today because of my travel agency, but before all of this, I was a singer.
Music was my first dream. I spent weekends performing at malls, weddings, and different events. Standing on stage made me feel alive. Then the pandemic arrived, and overnight, the events disappeared.
So I asked myself, 'What else can I become?'
I've always loved drawing, so I taught myself graphic design and started creating digital pet portraits. It became my small business. During one of the hardest seasons of my life, that business paid my bills. Eventually AI changed the industry, and demand slowed down. I had to let it go.
At first, I thought closing that chapter meant I had failed.
Now I realize every version of me was preparing me for the next one.
Engineering paid the bills, but traveling changed the way I looked at life. Every destination made me curious about helping other people experience the same feeling. The funny thing is, I had absolutely no experience in the travel industry. I was honestly terrified of starting a travel agency.
I kept asking myself, 'Who am I to do this?'
But sometimes you don't wait until you're confident. Sometimes you become confident because you finally start.
That's how Aurora Vision Travel Agency was born.
The best part isn't selling flights or hotels. It's when clients send me photos from places they've dreamed of visiting. Knowing I helped make those memories possible—that feeling never gets old.
Living abroad isn't always exciting, though.
One of my lowest moments happened when I caught COVID while living alone in Al Rigga. My family was thousands of miles away. I stayed inside my room wondering if anyone even knew how scared I was.
Every day, my flatmate quietly left food outside my door.
We don't always remember the biggest gestures. Sometimes we remember the smallest ones.
That simple act of kindness still stays with me.
People ask what keeps me going.
Honestly, it's my faith and my family.
Everything I do is connected to the life I want to build for my parents. I want them to enjoy the comfort they spent their whole lives giving me. If I can make that happen, every difficult season will have been worth it.
Travel has also changed how I think about life.
Imagine putting your thumb right in front of your eye. It blocks almost everything. That's what stress feels like. Work, deadlines, problems—they become your whole world.
Travel is like pulling your hand away.
Suddenly you remember how big the world really is.
You realize your problems aren't the only story being written.
People think traveling helps you discover new places.
I think it helps you discover yourself.
And if there's one thing I've learned from moving to another country with no plan, it's this:
You don't always need to see the whole road before taking the first step.
Sometimes you just need enough courage to believe that something better is waiting on the other side."